Destiny's Emissary
by Andmeuths
Summary: She came from a land not measured by distance, but by time .Her mission : to save humanity in as many timelines as possible. Her first target to influencing the timeline : Harry Potter . A time-travel story aiming for an original premise.Rating may change
1. Prologue : Parallel Stages

Forword: You may skip the Prologue and go straight to the Author's notes. It merely sets a context

Prologue : What is at Stake

It's a depressing fact of sentience , that ability represented by the forbidden fruit that most species , in most timelines fail to pass the series of barriers to a Kandashev class I civilization . The pitfalls are immense , from nuclear annihilation , doomsday viruses , race wars , wars of religion , wars of militant atheism and ideology , Magic-technology wars , climate change to the simple failure to move beyond fossil fuels . In several timelines , early in the 21st century , futurist predicted that humanity only had a 50 percent chance of surviving to the end of the century. The reality is far more depressing . In over 89.8% of HSS C0 timelines , Terra is reduced to a molten glassed radioactive slagheap . 9.7% of the time , humanity collapses with a whimper , and 0.18% of the time , Earth devolves into an oppressive Magocracy , often meriting it a Global Omega . Add to the risk of Superviruses , Supernovae explosions , Dark Matter collisions , Genetic Modding screwups , Dystopia formations, Apocalypse by Asteroid and , most commonly , the failure to address resource depletion and a rather depressing picture is formed . Of course , that explains Fermi's paradox . There's no one listening out there because sentience is rather rare anyway , and sentient races who may have been capable of listening to the stars tend to annihilate themselves before reaching the relative safety of type I . And , incredibly , for the no more than 0.00342% of timelines possessing civilizations that reach type I status , a good proportion STILL manages to destroy itself , or develop into an unredeemable dystopia, meriting the code Omega Omega . Even after all that , our history before the formation of the Multi-Universal Overmind ( MUOM) and the Union of Timelines suggest that even civilizations that attain the capability of crossing between timelines may very well have annihilated itself. However , our Cross-time Launchers are unable to penetrate that far back in time to ascertain so . And our encounters with more primitive cultures antagonistic to us , and still achieving Timeline travel opens the possibility that our great civilization , the Core timelines may still one day be annihilated with the encounter of a hostile timeline Civilization more advanced than ours. Just as Pizzaro conquered the Incans with no more than 150 men , and just as one Agent is sufficient to bring timelines millenniums before us into our fold , so it might be that one day , a hostile Entity far more advance than us may also encounter us... and subsume or erase us from this continuum. It is not as farfretched – clearly , the Fae , if they chose so could do our civilization. If there's one thing that three millenium's of Timeline travel has taught us , it is that anything could potentially happen . Like the emergence of the founding races of the Core Timelines , for instance. Like the enigmatic Fae who precedes and transcends us. ....

Young Nodes of reality , concern yourself not with such matters however . But know what is at stake here – nothing less than trillions of souls in your hands, who were , is and yet may be .

12 AC ( After Contact )

Terra , Timeline Cluster 9789 - 289272- Route 4.082^23 Variant 9.12^398 -Timeline 9374102 Variant 4.08^21

A/N The first number represents the number of years before the Capital Timeline , and the Second the point of Divergence . Essentially , this timeline's destination is 4.082^23 X 9.12^398 X 4.08^21 X 9374102 . As for what the various terms mean , read and find out=)

This is essentially yet another Time Travel Story , with a slightly different twist . Remember the Quantum Leap , or 30 Minutes that Changed Everything ? This explores what happens when a civilization millenniums more advanced than these two intervenes in other timelines on an INDUSTRIAL scale . Much of what happens in this story would be very similar to how your typical intervention plays out , except for the details . )

Terminology:

Core: Origin or Centre . The real essence of something, or it's starting point .

Reality Manipulation : The Art of manipulating the fabric of reality by non-physical means . Magic is but one manifestation of Reality manipulation. Felix Felicities is a very crude form of true Reality manipulations. Nodes practice a form of unconscious Reality manipulation , though they can consciously learn how to use their presence in reality to manipulate it.

Node : Someone whose decisions and actions will impact a time-line significantly . Nodes , when viewed through Real-Sight and Soul-sight distorts the Fabric of Reality , much as Gravity distorts Space-time. More powerful Nodes often have an effect resembling weak Felix Felicities . Nodes can be taught how to consciously manipulate reality , space and time in a way separate from magic, in a form of Reality-manipulation .

Timeline : A specific continuity of space-time . There are an infinite number of timelines , though some are more "real " than others. Every decision creates a new timeline .

Point of Divergence: The point at which a timeline splits into several new timelines.

Mind-sight: A nickname for passive Legilimacy , the detection of Occlumantic barriers , detection of surface thoughts and the exercise of passive Empathy and the like.

Empath : A person able to sense the emotions of others, and , for the trained , surface thoughts and motivations of others . Empaths circumvent Occlumantic barriers . This ability is also related to clairvoyance . This is the Core of Legilimacy .

Clairvoyance : Awareness of the most likely possibilities and consequences of actions , and also the presence of Nodes and Potential Nodes within a timeline . Capable of RealSight. Some nodes can be trained to be clairvoyant, though their ability can never exceed a Natural Born Clairvoyant.

Mage-sight/ Auravision: The detection of magical signatures , emissions and auras . This includes the detection of wards , identification of spells , curses and even , approximately , magical strength .

Soul-sight: The ability to see not just the Soul Core, but it's impact on reality itself. Real Sight as applied to sentient objects. Mage-Sight is a subset of Soul-sight.

Realsight: The ability to see the fabric of reality itself. Soul-sight is a subset of real Sight

Sight : Detection of the electromagnetic spectrum .

Magical Core : The magical Capacity of someone . All sentients have magical Cores , but for Magical Cores to be utilized , certain Genetic codes are necessary . Magical Core strength is highly correlated with intellect and cognitive ability , while the condition of a body is essential in determining how effectively a magical Core can be used . Ultimately , it also determines the maximum magical capacity of a magical core.

Soul Core : The very essence of the Soul . What the Nucleus is to a cell , the Soul Core is to the entity. Each Soul has a unique signature , which can be "Locked on"

Soul Lock : Allows the active tracking of a soul . The most common use is in allowing magical spells to "home in" on a soul.

AI : Artifical Intelligences or minds . Magical Paintings are an extremely primitive form of AI .

MemAI : AI's designed to store memories . A descendant of AI's originally developed out of Priori Incatetum echoes. Also capable of mimicking and storing personalities , in the same manner as Magical mirrors or portraits.

Free AI : Free standing AI's , not under the direct command and linked to a Soul.

Binded AI : An AI that is linked to the mind and soul , in the same way the Brain is connected to the Soul . An AI is essentially an artificial mind under the control of a Soul

AI Cloud : A network of AI's linked to a soul .

Note On Language : Of course , a highly advanced humanity is likely to speak a language as remote from us as Modern English was from Old Anglo-Saxon . The terms are rough translations of concepts of Core Standard , the lingua Franca within the Union . Time travellers utilize certain AI matrixes to communicate in the current language of the timeline they are in .


	2. Chapter 1: Visions

The First Chapter : Visions

The night was dark and moonless . The only source of light came from the distant stars , and the artificial lights that made up Privet Drive . A street of utter normalacy , for this time and place . Of course , it depends from when you come from . A Neanderthal would have found this most alien , a time traveller , most primitive .

In the shadows , on the corner , at the very spot Albus Dumbledore almost 14 years before , a young girl waited . No one could see through the darkness , her appearance , and no one would see her leave . Infact , she made absolutely no sound appearing at all , nor any sound leaving. All eyes would have merely given that corner a cursory glance . It was as if the shadows were conspiring to keep her hiden . Perhaps it was .

Her eyes were fixated upon Number Four Privet Drive . But her gaze would have given you the sense that she was not exactly focusing on Privet Drive instead . On one hand , it seemed like her eyes were totally normal. Anyone looking closer would have seen , however , would have seen faint traces of a glazed , almost distant , unfocused look , like some faint background to a painting . Like that background was the reality , and the painting was a mask , maybe even a symptom of the background.

" Symmetry " She murmurred , as she continued to just stand there , gazing into the sub urban home .

Sight is limited only to the visible portion of the Electro magnetic spectrum . There are whole frequencies of Electro-magneticsm that are invisible to the normal human eye . Yet the world itself was not limited just to Electro-magnetism . There were more forces at work in reality itself than what we can sense . What if we could "see" true nature of reality itself ?

But , the girl could "see." She could " See" far more of reality than any normal human of that time . She could see the warping of Space-time by gravity . She could see the emissions of reality changing magics . She could see the "lights" of a soul , it's unique stirations and patterns , far more unique than your fingerprint . Far more unique than even your DNA. She could see destinies , and fates in time . And number Four Privet Drive , no matter what their hypocrtical inhabitants might have pretended was far from ordinary .

It was a strange , crimson like shield around the house . At it's fullest strength , it would have bled and tinged the streets around with a faint trace of crimson . But , it itself , a rectangular box like aura enveloping the entire house , looked like it was starved . Emphermal, faint , pulsing weakly , like some starved organism . There was no " sense" of warmth that the wards brought , at it's fullest strength . For the blood ward had been deprived of almost all forms of love , sustained by a mere technicality . A double abnormality in itself .

Even the light of the souls in the street were another double abnormality . In the entire street , one abberation stood out aboe all . Within the confines of Number Four Privet Drive , only one soul shone , as beautiful arcs swirled in and out to feed some enormous , rich core within a soul ,obeying some strange , higher dance. The rest , had no arcs . No beams moving in and out , no higher dances . It was almost as if their souls were somehow " Magic-proof" . Where the soul of the girl came from , a settlement like this would have shine dynamically , interacting in wild fires and tangents , a sight of the most amazing beauty . It was to sight what sight was to blindness, fatally adictive to the unaided mind .

She turned her attention back to her original target . The Soul with beams of light dancing in and out , whose soul core shone in a way that made all the rest in the streets look like star light to moonlight . She drank in the sight , took note of it's uniqueness , imprinting it within her mind . It was what she came to do . And the soul was unshielded , almost unguarded . There was only the most emphermal of shell protecting it , a product of her target's natural will-power. Not even a simple Occlumantic shell surrounded it . Something that was unusual where she came from , but not in this archaic place and time . Within her , some presence in her mind suddenly flared up , like a sudden crescendo in a symphony . A signal that what she came to do was done . Her quarry was now soul locked . It was time for her to leave – she would be missed if she lingered any longer .

She took one last look , pass all the walls of Number Four Privet Drive , at her target , before shutting down her Realsight . There would plenty of time to observe this Mr Potter's impact on reality later . Turning around , she began to take a step – then vanished into the Darkness . No trace of her remained , be it magically , or with the mundane five senses .

Mere innocent shadows .

From the Goblet of Fire , Prologue

**"But I am not a man, Muggle," said the cold voice, barely audible now over the crackling of the flames. "I am much, much more than a man. However ... why not? I will face you ... Wormtail, come turn my chair around."**

**The servant gave a whimper.**

**"You heard me, Wormtail."**

**Slowly, with his face screwed up, as though he would rather have done anything than approach his master and the hearth-rug where the snake lay,**

**the small man walked forwards and began to turn the chair. The snake lifted its ugly triangular head and hissed slightly as the legs of the chair snagged on its rug.**

**And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream.**

**He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke, as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.**

**Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.**

**Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had just been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face.**

**The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning,** **was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.**

He sat up , one hand clutching his scar , the other reaching out for his glasses – only that his room was not shrouded in darkness . He quickly put it on , and the world came into focus once again. It was his bed room , still shrouded in darkness .

The dream still sang vividly in his mind , refusing to fade away , a sense of dread, like falling into some deep abyss comign over him . And then the questions came . The last time his scar hurt , Voldermort was near by . **But Voldemort couldn't be here, now ... The idea of Voldemort lurking in Privet Drive was absurd, impossible...**

He blinked once again . The house was strangely silent . The sounds of his relatives were strangely absent . Outside , the street lamps still burned orange , yet , somehow , he had the sense that something was .... off , somehow . A sense of dread came upon him. Minutes passed . But nothing happened . Finally , the tension drained right out of him . He looked around the room again and **his eye paused on the birthday cards his two best friends had sent him at the end of July. What would they say if he wrote to them and told them about his scar burning?**

**At once, Hermione Granger's voice filled his head, shrill and panicky.**

_**"Your scar hurt? Harry, that's really serious ... Write to Professor Dumbledore! And I'll go and check**_ **Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions ... **_**Maybe there's something in there about curse scars...**_**"**

He blinked . Something was wrong . He went back to the window . Suddenly , the street lights and the road below was gone . Simply gone . In it's place was a strange crystaline blue tinged sea . The sky was no longer dark . It was bathed in golden light from two Suns . The clouds and sky , all tinged with hues of golden mixed with blue , like a beautiful afternoon . He stared in shock and astounded surprise .

Soft golden light drifted in from behind the door to his room . A golden , warm light , that somehow filled his soul with a strange joy , serenity and -

Something was wrong . The feeling felt strangely unnatural – like a cheering charm ten times stronger perhaps . He was in an unfamilliar place . He never ever heard of a room transported to some alien landscape , and as far as he knew , it was impossible by any form of magic . It was definitely a dream .

At that thought , there was a sense of amusement that seemed to wash over him . And , he felt some sort of strange .... presence nearby . He could not describe the feeling properly . It was very similar to the sensation of a nearby Dementor , only that this was quite different in many ways . Instead of a chill , there was just a sense of ... a presence, for the lack of a better word . Like knowing that someone was looking at you from your back, maybe.

Then he heard a voice . For a moment , he froze , almost thinking that it was Voldermort .

" Welcome Mr Potter ." It was most definitely not Voldermort . It was female for one . It was a voice of a young girl . It was loud , accentuated , confident almost . " I'm behind the door . Go ahead . Open it . It's safe ."

Harry hesitated for a moment . But if it was truly a dream ( as it almost certainly would be ) , there would be no harm trying would'nt it ?

He opened the door , and golden light streamed through it .

He opened his door to a bright cheery meadow , coated with beautiful Lily white flowers and the Greenest Grass . It was bathed in gold . A resplendent gold that spoke of themes of peace , of serenity .... of adventure ?

" Go ahead . Come on out . "

He then saw the source of the voice . It was from a girl , meters away, no more than 12 or 13 years old . Her hair was long and dark , as were her eyes . She had a very prominent chin , and a face that the ungenerous might have claimed was arrogant . There was this strong presence around her . It felt like boldness on the surface , but there seemed to be some unidentifable subtlty beneath it – . It was almost like this boldness was exegerated . Beneath it was a sense of personality and presence – even of agelesness , even stronger than Dumbledore . It was however fleeting , and was soon gone , leaving only that strong aura of Boldness .

" I'd thought you'll appreciate honesty , Mr Potter . It is easy , with enough training to manipulate the aura you give off to those around you ." The girl continued .

He cautiously stepped onto the grass . It felt like some verdant , thick carpet that covered the ground . He walked closer towards that strange girl. She was definitely not what she seems, that much was clearly obvious .

" Where am I ? " Harry Asked

" You have questions , Mr Potter , I believe . Many questions . Your scar , for one . Why Voldermort , is targetting you . Why , does it seem that every single year , you get thrust right into the center of attention , and into a life threatening situation . " The girl's gaze locked onto Harry , twinkling , almost peering straight down into Harry's Soul . It felt very much like being in Dumbledore's presence , in a way .

" And about that dream too . "

" What dream ? ' Harry's annoyance was obvious .

" Surely it's a rhetoric question Mr Potter . You know what I'm referring to. "

" A dream ? "

" You are in a dream within a dream so to speak . More properly speaking though , you've passed from one vision to another . And both visions are grounded in reality . But , given how the Dursely's have deprived you , you aren't capable of understanding it yet . No , not just yet . "

" What has the Dursely's have to do with it ? "

" Your friend knows the answer to this riddle , Mr Potter . You are skeptical , I can see it clearly in your mind . Very well , I will prove this to you that this is not a dream . I will make two predictions to you . Firstly , when you wake up , an owl will come in bearing a wand holster. Secondly , this very morning , you would receive an invitation to the Qudditch World Cup from the Weasleys . Here's a third sign that this no ordinary dream . This conversation would not fade , unlike a normal dream . " Clearly , she was sidestepping the question .

Harry's skepticism was obvious on his face . So far , his only experience with divination was with the fraud , Trelawney .

Almost as if the girl knew what he was thinking , she responded . " Trelawney is a weak seer – if her powers as a seer were equal to her magical powers , she'll almost be a squib Harry . Do not base your judgments upon a single example . "

" But as to your original question , pardon my rudeness , you are within , my mind so to speak . As such , this place is almost utterly within my control – except for you,that is . Shall I demonstrate ? "

She turned around began walking up the air in a spiral , almost as if she was on some invisible staircase , slowly and deliberately . Three times she walked up in the spiral , and then she stopped , facing Harry .

" Magic is a little like that Harry , in reality too . "

She made no gesture at all , nor said a sound . But suddenly , the sky turned blackish blue , and beautiful auroras began dancing around the sky .

Harry stood , dumbfounded at the splendid sight around him , and at those casual feats whom he believed that magic almost certainly could not pull off .

" I suppose the next question you'd ask me then is who am I ? "

She paused for a moment .

" This place is a within my mind and a construction of my mind . It's based on my Homeworld . "

Harry simply stared . " This is definitely a dream . Am I suppose to believe you are an Alien ? "

" I'm human , if that's what you mean , technically speaking . But , I am from A future , Mr Potter . A possible future I've come to help humanity survive . The possibility for humanity's survival , I confess is abysmally low without outside intervention . " She continued casually dropping bombshells .

Harry simply stood there , on the verge of being overwhelmed .

" I think that's enough for tonight Harry . It's difficult for you to absorb anymore . Besides , we are almost out of time ." She snapped her fingers , and right behind her , a glowing silverish rectangular portal , like a door way appeared . She stepped aisde .

" The Exit's over here Harry . Good Morning . "

The Portal suddenly rushed towards Harry Potter , it's glow absorbing every fibre of his being .

Three Hundered miles away , he awoke with a start .


	3. Chapter 2 : Empirical

A/N : I'm taking passages from the Goblet of Fire for the early chapters , since the divergence from canon isn't sufficient yet .

A/N 2 : Oops . I forgot to credit my inspirations for this from other Fan fics . Fictions like the Quantum Leap and Thirty Minutes can Change Everything has inspired some of this work . Essentially , my base for the society the time-traveller was from started from thinking about the civilization in the Quantum Leap . Now , push forward that civilization by several millenniums . That was the base for my conception of the civilization of the " Core Timelines " , though I hope there are quite a lot of original elements in it too .

Chapter III : Empirical

The girl sat in her own sanctum . In truth , it was a mere humble bedroom , to the exterior eye . For two weeks already , it had been hers effectively . As far as her so called …. parents could tell , she was still their daughter , mind and spirit . Personality AIs after all were highly efficacious at their job. Right before she "shunted" , as the people in her business euphemistically called , the soul of the body she now possessed , she had one of her AI take a Priori Echo of the previous occupant . Now , her soul was in possession of the previous personality , and memories of the soul . The charade was almost fool proof – and besides , did not need to be maintained for long anyway , when it came to hosts this age . Any discrepancies could be obliviated in a manner that the mages of this time would not be able to detect . After all , the existence of nodes would not yet be suspected for centuries yet .

She terminated her reverie , and turn her gaze to the mirror . In some manners , magic was still superior to technology , especially in the field of artificial intelligences . Not for long of course , but at this point , indisputably so . She quickly annexed the innate primitive intelligence within to her soul .

Staring at the mirror intently , for she was still not fully accustomed to her current body yet , the reflection of her body gradually dissolved into a nimbus , before recolacing seconds later to another face altogether . One of her Master AI s . Thinking and debating to oneself was already being done as of this time . It always fascinated her , however , how a single mind could conduct a conversation with oneself . How people of the past could live with that in the first place. It was something she never had to resort the day her soul commanded more than her birth mind .

" As , they say , a penny for your thoughts ? " The mirror spoke first . The image had flowing dark , blue hair , and angular , cyan eyes . Clearly , a Chinese like face .

She smiled . " Better than four , six or thirteen, don't you agree . "

The mirror laughed with her . Four , sounded similar to death in Chinese , six incompleteness in theology , and thirteen bad luck in European folk culture .

" Of course , we now know that these numbers have power because we give them such . Don't worry , I'm not going native . " She smiled at her companion mind .

" I'd definitely be worried if you were . " The amusement was obvious in her doppleganger's voice . " Do you think he will tell Dumbledore about his dreams ? "

" Sirius , maybe . And maybe Dumbledore . It's quite unlikely however . Worse case scenario , I'd just clean Dumbledore's mind . "

" Don't get over confident . You may have far more dexterity and skill than Dumbledore in magic , but power still counts for something . It's for the same reason why we shouldn't intervene too early directly yet. " The mirror admonished .

" Obliviate me ? He can't even stop wandless magic to begin with , not to mention that he'd have to wipe out every single AI memory banks . He would'nt even know where to begin . " She sighed . " Albus is a Node , a Great man in most of his incarnations . Yet , he has a little bit of a God Complex to him unfortunately , though he wouldn't admit it . "

" I savor the irony of this . Here we are , proposing that we hold the solutions to this timeline , and yet ….. " The mirror responded .

" Ah , but we have hindsight . And the means of Foresight . "

The girl felt the presence of someone approaching her room . With a sigh , she withdrew her AI back into her current body . The mirror abruptly reverted back to it's original state . As if nothing extra ordinary had occurred .

Faint , white light drifted it through the window . At precisely 08:03 Hours , the sun's rays directly penetrated , past the window of the Second Bedroom of Number Four Privet Drive , all the way to one Mr Harry James Potter's eyelids , finally manifesting itself as a Dark Red hue to his cornea . It was with this simulation to his visual receptors that forced his mind awake .

Harry Potter blinked . There was .... something unusual . In a world where the unusual became the norm , that was saying alot . His mind felt as if he had just emerged from a Cramming Session for the Final Year Examinations . Disconencted images filtered through his head . A rat face man . Slit red eyes . An elderly man being murudred . A Dark , desolate manor . The malicious green of the Avada Kedava curse . All this were at discordant to other far less grimmer images . Two beautiful jewels in the sky . Two suns . The softest grass beneath his feet . Auroras glowing in the night sky . The face of a young girl , Dark haired with prominent chins . Conversations .

It was faint , but steadily growing stronger .

" I am from a future . " That young girl . No time turner could have acomplished that , could it ? It seemed so far fretched . So impossible . Then....

"Firstly , when you wake up , an owl will come in bearing a wand holster. Secondly , this very morning , you would receive an invitation to the Qudditch World Cup from the Weaselys. Here's a third sign that this no ordinary dream . This conversation would not fade , unlike a normal dream . " Three proofs . Could it be true ?

The third seemed fulfilled . For some reason , every word in the dream became even clearer . As if it was engraved into his mind with a laser .

He heard the tap of talons on the window . Who could it be ? He sat up , and looked at the window . A letter . And a strange , white , leathery casing . A gift from his closest friends , perhaps ?

He walked up to the window and opened it . The owl flew in , and sat on his hands . It then turned and looked at him , intently , in a way only Hedwig ever did .

Then the impossible happened .

" You've got mail , Mr Potter . "

Harry simply stared in shock at the owl . A talking owl ? He must still be imagining or dreaming . Was he in some surreal dream within a dream... within a dream? That was the second proof .

The owl sat there for a few seconds , preening it's feathers . He dropped his package , and the letter. Then he nipped Harry's fingers, causing a small , shallow scratch .

" Ow ! " Harry hastily withdrew his hands hastily from the owl . It flew out of the window , without another word .

He stared for a moment . Did he imagine it ? Then his stomach growled . It reminded him . Breakfast . He'd better get down before his morbidly obese cousin got his paws on his breakfast . He laid aside the package and the letter , and went down.

From The Goblet of Fire , Chapter 3

Harry slowly strolled up the stairs , deep in thought . It was exactly as the dream predicted . He

Three . A coincidence perhaps ? But who on earth would send a wand holster ? Or was that letter was some prank ? But if it was .... was he a seer somehow ? Maybe ?

Harry dismissed it at once . Improbable . Impossible . There three possibiltiies . The First , coincidence . The Second , the dream was real . The third , the dream was a vision , and he was a seer .

Suddenly , a grey spherical blur cut across his line of vision , colliding head on with him .

"**OUCH!" said Harry as what appeared to be a small, gray, feathery tennis ball collided with the side of his head.**

**Harry massaged the spot furiously, looking up to see what had hit him, and saw a minute owl, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, whizzing excitedly around the room like a loose firework. Harry then realized that the owl had dropped a letter at his feet. Harry bent down, recognized Ron's handwriting, then tore open the envelope. Inside was a hastily scribbled note.**

**Harry - DAD GOT THE TICKETS - Ireland versus Bulgaria, Monday night. Mum's writing to the Muggles to ask you to stay. They might already have the letter, I don't know how fast Muggle post is. Thought I'd send this with Pig anyway.**

**Harry stared at the word "Pig," then looked up at the tiny owl now zooming around the light fixture on the ceiling. He had never seen anything that looked less like a pig. Maybe he couldn't read Ron's writing. He went back to the letter:**

**We're coming for you whether the Muggles like it or not, you can't miss the World Cup, only Mum and Dad reckon it's better if we pretend to ask their permission first. If they say yes, send Pig back with your answer pronto, and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Sunday. If they say no, send Pig back pronto and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Sunday anyway.**

**Hermione's arriving this afternoon. Percy's started work - the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Don't mention anything about Abroad while you're here unless you want the pants bored off you.**

**See you soon –**

**Ron**

Harry's elation almost instantly washed away those thoughts , for the time being .

"**Calm down!" Harry said as the small owl flew low over his head, twittering madly with what Harry could only assume was pride at having delivered the letter to the right person. "Come here, I need you to take my answer back!"**

**The owl fluttered down on top of Hedwig's cage. Hedwig looked coldly up at it, as though daring it to try and come any closer.**

**Harry seized his eagle-feather quill once more, grabbed a fresh piece of parchment, and wrote:**

**Ron, it's all okay, the Muggles say I can come. See you five o'clock tomorrow. Can't wait**

He paused for a moment . Should he tell Ron about the two dreams ? He considered it for a moment . It would not acomplish much . Besides , if those dreams did prove real , there'd be plenty of time to discuss it Ron .

He signed of with his name, **folded the note up very small, and with immense difficulty, tied it to the tiny owl's leg as it hopped on the spot with excitement. The moment the note was secure, the owl was off again; it zoomed out of the window and out of sight.**

That reminded him . He looked around for the package he received that morning . He spotted it , lying within the tangled mess that was his bed , nestling on the threadbare blankets . The letter apparently unrolled itself ... somehow .

Suddenly , the top right most corner of the letter flashed . Elelctric blue ink suddenly scrawled across the paper .

_Are you ready Mr Potter ? _

Harry gave a start .

_If Thomas Marvalo Riddle could do it fifty years ago , surely it is child's play . Though , it works on a completely different principal from the diary you confronted two years ago . _

Harry stared . It seemed to know his thoughts . Was that how it communicated ?

_Correct . This letter is a remotely operated Artificial Intelligence , a reflection of my creator . Think of it as a magical potrait of sorts . Once my job is done , this conversation would be logged into the paper as a memory . Only you can ascess the memory of this letter . You can do this , simply by focusing your thoughts on this letter . Communication with us also works in a similar manner . _

_Erm ..... _Harry thought .

_Go on . We have about fifteen minutes before this link is lost._

_Did you appear in my dreams last night ? _

_The soul that is us yes . _The letter responded.

_So you are from the future ?_

_A future . We don't have time to go into such details right now . _

_Erm , and the wand holster?_

_For your use . I strongly encourage you to put your wand it , lest it be stolen young one . _The ink almost ran to the bottom of the page . The top most lines however , faded , leaving the parchment clean once more .

_How long into the future are you from anyway ? Why did you come back ? Why did you approach me ? _Harry' asked as his mind adjusted to the situation .

_Question 2: Let's leave it for tonight . Question 3: Ditto . Question 4: Do you really think you are the only one I approached , Harry ? Or will approach ? But you are crucial , yes . Just as some others are crucial . _The letter paused .

_Erm , is it anyone I know ? _Harry asked .

_Quite a few yes . But you may disagree with who I approach ._

Harry widen his eyes at that . _What do you mean ? _There was an undertone of wariness at that .

_Don't worry . Not someone like that dunce Malfoy . At least not in this timeline . _The trail of script on the letter paused , flickering once.

_Sigh . We don't have much time left , so I'd guess I'd get to it then . _

The letter continued on , this time

_Be careful of who you tell about this . There are some people that you may trust , but your trust ... may be misplaced . And even those that are trust worthly may inadverntly betray your secrets to those who are not , without knowing it at all . _

_But-_

_I'm not suggesting anything yet . I have no basis yet to start making suggestions to you , until you know what this is all about . But , my annonymity is preferred . If the whole world knows of my presence , a time-traveller from the future ..... I'm sure you can see where this is going . _

Harry considered . _Maybe.... but ..... I'm still not that sure about that . _

_Not sure yes , but that does'nt mean you don't see . _The letter admonished.

_Best not to tell anyone by letter , at least directly . Owl post is easily interceptable . Face to face , and only when you are alone . Listen . Time is almost up . If you need help in understanding or someone to confide to about this , may I advice Ms Hermione Granger ? But please – ask her privately , when no one else is around . Forgive , me but I may have to conduct memory charms if this secret comes out . Can you keep a secret Mr Potter ? A secret of my presence in your timeline . _

Harry paused . His morality made it hard for him to betray the confidence the girl obviously was placing on him . And worse comes to worse , there was no harm discussing the matter with his one of his closest friends , Hermione Granger . But surely he was in way over his head in this . If this was truly a time traveller from the future , then why would she ( and maybe it was a he masquerading as a she in the first place ) approach him ? Surely someone like Dumbledore would be better . Obviously , she wanted to change time , and the future of humanity . But what was her aims and goals? Surely Dumbledore would be the more reasonable choice.

The writings of the letter flickered again . _A compromise may be in order then . I only ask that you refrain until my purpose here is revealed to you in it's entirety . Is that acceptable , Mr Potter? _

He nodded slowly. It was a resonable concession _Yes . But really , would'nt someone like Dumbledore be better ? _

_Do you approach the old generation ,or the new when the future is concerned , Mr Potter? Dwell on that .Nonetheless , Tonight , we shall meet in dreams , Harry . _There was another short pause in the writing.

_I would'nt insult you by wishing you a pleasant day , considering your relatives though . _

_Goodbye for now . _

_R_

Harry laughed at that as the writing on the letter faded away. She evidently possesed a sense of humor after all .

Who did R stand for though ?


	4. Chapter 3 : Nite Beta

Chapter 4 : Nite Beta

A/N : Beta is the Second letter in the Greek Alphabet.

A/N 2: If you wish to speculate the identity on R , R is actualy a canon character within Harry Potter . With very few characters starting with R , it should be very easy to guess who is it . HOWEVER , the soul occupying R is not R's orginal soul . R's original soul , has been  
"shunted " . I'll leave the reader to figure it out what that precisely means .

A/N 3 : This is NOT a slash or harem fic .From the previous chapter , it should be clear that this is also NOT a pro-Dumbledore fiction .

_The moonlite sky shined it's glorious benedictions down on both of them . He should have been feeling nervous . The anxieties should have been eating him alive . Beneath him , the Hippogriph silently beat it's majestic wings . His Godfather's very soul was at stake . Hermione's hands were warped around his waist . _

_And it made him feel so secure . Almost as if anything could be done . Almost as if the impossible could be made possible . Trust . The iron grip around his waste , that trust she was placing in him . Her very presence . It was strengthening him . _

_The windows were rushing upwards . And somehow , a small part of him wished that the climb would never end . That there was no pressure of time bearing down on him . That the presence of his very best friend would remain with him . _

_The next moment , it was gone , and he once more stood , for the second time , on that verdant green field on a plateau over a crystaline sea . _

Harry blinked , twice .

It was almost as if being woken up from a pleasant dream , only to find oneself in Elysium.

Strange , tiny buttefly creatures flew pass And a small flock of a minute species of round spherical like avians chirped in a symphonic melody beyond the wildest dreams of naturalist on Terra in his time .

" Beautiful isn't it ? " A soft voice broke him out of his revirie .

Harry spun round to the source of the voice .

There was a knowing smile on her face . Almost as if she knew what he had dreamnt .

" I do , you know . Your mind is an open book to me , totally unshielded , totally undefended . " She smiled .

" What do you mean ? " Harry cautiously asked .

" There is a difference between shouting your thoughts , and controlling yourself , by keeping your thoughts locked in your heart Harry . All humans , by default shout out their thoughts . It's just that no one is born with the ears to here them . " The girl , who was not quite a girl in truth frowned upon seeing Harry's baffled face .

" It's an analogy Harry Potter . An upbringing by the Dursley's has damaged you gravely , by the looks of it . Let's not even get to your less than ..... optimal influences . You were not meant to be like this . Your mind can be more like this . "

" Erm.... What do you mean ? " Harry asked , puzzled . " Less than optimal influences ? " 

" In time you will understand , Harry . " And that was the only response Harry knew he would get .

" In any case , let's pick off where my letter stopped . Why am I here ? Why have I approached you ? And ... also to answer some of the burning questions you might have had – if I can . I warn you though , right here , right now , that you might not like the answers to some of your questions . Some , I will only tell you after the Qudditch World cup . You are anticipating it are'nt you ? I will not risk putting this joy of yours in jepordy ." She raised one hand up , cutting of Harry before he could respond . " All will be made clear in time , Harry . Very Very soon . I only ask for your patience . May I have it please , Harry ?"

He paused for a moment , then nodded . " Yeah , sure . But when ? "

" Till the Qudditch World cup is over . "

" That seems fair enough . " Harry agreed .

" Thank you . " The girl curtseyed , in a rather formal fashion .

She then straightened , facing Harry , looking at him right in the eye . Again , Harry was reminded of being in Dumbledore's presence . Only … it was subtly different . Similar , but also different .

She sighed . " Where to begin , Mr Potter. It's a long story …. so - " a chair suddenly appeared behind her . " Take a sit Mr Potter . There's another chair behind you .

He looked behind . It was a plush cushion , that almost seemed to be a totally perfect fit for him , and his height . Sitting down , the chair seemed to fit him almost perfectly . Like the chair was custom made for him . Forget that – it was probably so .

" To understand why I'm here , you must first understand a little about time itself. "

A tray suddenly materialized between them . Two cups stood before Harry . One was filled with the aroma of Jasmine tea , the other Orange Juice .

" The Juice or the tea , Mr Potter? "

" Erm , what's this got to do with time ? " Harry asked .

" A demonstration Harry. I'll ask again ; the juice , or the tea Mr Potter ?" The girl responded . The steadfastness in her voice reeked of implacability.

" The , uh , juice . " That sense of presence could be quite intimidating .

Harry took it in his hands , hesitantly looking at the girl . She nodded , and Harry drunk it down . It tasted like the perfect combination of sweetness.

As he drunk , the girl continued " You have just made a choice , Harry . But here's an interesting riddle for you . Before you made the choice , there was a possibility . Two possibilities . "

" One possibility – you chose the juice . The other , you chose the tea . Now , you have no bias against either the juice or the tea . For all intents and purposes , you had a 50-50 chance of choosing either the juice or the tea . So far this is obvious , right ? "

" I don't see where this is going though ? "

" We must start somewhere familiar or easily grasped when explaining , don't we?" The girl gave another of those smiles . Interestingly , it seemed genuine.

The girl leaned forward . Her voice might have still sounded the same , but now , there was something compelling , memorable in the way she was delivering it .

" Before , the possibilities were precisely 50-50. How real were this possibilities after you made your decision though ? "

" Shouldn't one be real , and the other not ? " Harry quickly answered. Something nagged at him though .

" What if both were equally real ? What if right now , at the point you made your decision , the universe split into two , seperate , parallel universe . And the two new universes were as real as each other , existing side by side ? Is time one straight arrow , or a magnificent oak , whose branches split into more branches ? "

" " The girl paused , allowing Harry to process it . His face clearly displayed his incredulity . Just right at the very moment Harry processed that , the girl suddenly continued … as if she knew Harry's thoughts .

" You might be thinking that this is absurd . And I don't blame you for that – after all , your sole experience with time travel has told you that time is linear in essence- a straight arrow . This , Harry , is an illusion . " It was the way she said it , so matter of factly that actually frightened Harry on one level .

" We call every decision that resolves two or more possibilities… a point of Divergence . Are you following me so far ? "

Harry nodded. He thought he could see where this was going .

" My offer of tea or Orange juice was one such point of divergence . The truth is ,every potential decision leads to a point of divergence . There is , right now , a parallel you , in a parallel world who accepted the tea. "

Harry considered the implications of that idea . " So you are saying that , there are parallel worlds out there where Pettingew did not betray my parents ?" The hope obvious in his voice .

" Yes . But , there are worlds worst than this . There are worlds where Hermione did not posses the time turners , and you know how it ends." She did not have to spell it out – the mere possibility alone was enough to send a chill up Harry's spine. The horror of those dementors …..

" There are worlds where Voldermort does not exist . Worlds where you may have a different set of parents . Worlds where everyone's gender that you know has been swapped around . Worlds where you have a twin . Even worlds where you do not exist . " The girl cut of those thoughts before they could begin.

" There are all kinds of worlds , I take in then , where any and everything can happen ?" That niggling feeling colaced itself into a realization . He tried picturing Ron as a girl , but failed .

" You are correct . This is the simple model of time . The Physicist of your time know this as the many-worlds theory . They are right – but not completely so . Not all worlds , however , are created equal , but that just makes things more confusing . " There was a sense of firm finality to her words , making it patently obvious that she was unwilling to discuss the matter even deeper . Yet , how real was this world then? And what about his experience with the time turner?

" But …. the time turner – "

" Ah , the time turner . " The girl closed those dark pools for a moment .

" Has it ever occurred to you that the decision to take the time-turner has created an entirely separate parallel Universe of it's own ? Perhaps a visual representation would help . " The girl drew a line with her fingers in the air . A shining violet line started crawling up where her fingers passed . Suddenly , it split into two branches .

" Picture this , In one branch , Hermione did not , for whatever reasons had the time turner on with her . The other branch is the timeline you experienced . "

Harry nodded for her to continue .

" The time turner's effect is to bend the timeline back . It DOES not cross timelines . " The branch curved backwards in an arc , rejoining itself above the point where the two branches intersected .

" Do you understand what does this symbolize , Harry? "

He thought it through carefully . " Erm , going back through the time turner ? "

" Precisely ! But Hermione's decision to take the time -turner with her caused the divergence . NOT your use of the time turner . Do you see now the illusion ? You think it's your use of the time -turner that led to the outcome . The truth was , that in deciding to carry the time turner , Hermione's path was already set , and because her path is so tightly intertwined with yours , your path too has been restricted. " She gave a cheeky smile .

" Don't worry . If you've gotten over your shock over Quantum Physics , you shouldn't be too shocked with this . "

" Quantum Physics ? "

" Dear boy , the Durseley's have TRULY deprived you . " The girl shook her head .

" Let's move on , irregardless . I do not wish to insult you with pity . " She slid her hands under her chin .

" I guess you have figured out by now , where I come from , Harry? You aren't an idiot after all , obviously . Learning the Partonus at your age – is amazing for your time , a testimony to your potential . " The girl's eyes grew momentarily distant , and then she nodded. " What I am about to tell you next …... it's not going to be pleasant Harry . I do not wish to mar your upcoming happiness Harry , you deserve it . "

She paused , her expectations for an answer hanging in the air .

" Erm …. what can you tell me now though ? " Harry puzzedly asked .

" That you are crucial to humanity Harry . That you are one of the few people on Earth that can change the course of human history within your very own timeline . We call people who wrap history around them in my time , Nodes . Nodes of time . Your actions can have a significant impact on the larger picture of things . You are slaves – slaves in one sense , yet in that slavery , comes great freedom . "

" I don't understand . " Harry confessed.

" Do you seek trouble Harry , or is trouble looking for you ? Are you often caught up in the center of affairs , Harry? This is what a node is – always to be caught up and swept up into the center of affairs , where your actions determines much . Think of it . You know it's true . Though you would prefer a quiet life . "

Harry thought back . There was an element of truth to it – he was always somehow pulled into the center of adventures , of danger . In the first year , there was the philosopher's stone . The second year , the Basilik . The third year ….. Harry shuddered.

The girl went over , knelt and placed her hand over his shoulder . That developing sense of dread scattered like dark clouds dispersing after the rain .

" There will be quiet times in your life too . But you can never have a totally quiet life . Sometimes , Harry , we have to acknowledge who we are . You are a node . Your life will be more interesting than others . Be fuller than others . And though you may be caught up in the center of things from time to time , in between is peace . But you must not let peace lull you to thing that , when peace begins to fall apart , you will not be forced into the center of the storm .This is the honest truth . Fear not , you are not alone . . You will never be alone . The burden is not yours alone to bear . It cannot be yours alone to bear . No burden every truly is . So , do not let this stop you from enjoying your life . "

It then came as a whisper . " Do not brood over this , Harry. " The message penetrated right into his soul , filling it with the most generous beautiful warmth . The likes never felt before .

She straightened.

" I need you Harry . More precisely , humanity in this timeline needs you . But not you alone . The burden does not rest on you alone but on many others too – many who are yet to be born . But you are crucial , Harry , make no mistake about that . Your actions will play a large part in determining in not just the success of humanity , but the price humanity must pay to reach that stage I'm talking about . Let's put it in another way . You play an essential role in the survivial of your species . And before you begin to even protest that you are totally normal , with no special abilities , let me put this bluntly to you . Hippogriff Dung. Humility is a virtue , but under estimating yourself is not humility . Besides , it was the dammable Dursely's who put that concept that you were useless into you . Are you going to let them have their way Harry ? "

Harry's eyes silently reflected the confusion within , That turmoil , the mess of thoughts and shards of mind that pierced his soul. How could he even be crucial ? He was a normal guy . With no special abilities . His grades were hardly special . Nor did he wish to be in the center of attention . On the other hand , if the girl before her did speak the truth , then he had to act . To help in anyway he could , no matter how small . His lack of self confidence clashed with his instinct , the thing that some would later call " Saving the People " .

_You will not be alone . The burden is not yours alone to bear . It cannot be yours alone to bear . No burden every truly is . _

Like a Calvary charge at the most crucial moment of a battle , those words that seemed to echo within his mind worked it's magic . If he could help in anyway , he would . On a subconcious level , it helped that the fate of the world was not entirely on it's shoulders.

" I will help in anyway possible . But how ? " He came to a decision . He realized an epiphany there and then . Whatever his abilities might be , he could make a difference still . And that was enough .

The girl smiled , pleasure and glee clear in her eyes . " I think that's enough for one night , Harry Potter , for now . It's a lot to take it isn't it ? I doubt you could absorb any more . "

Harry felt the world strangely receeding back from him – and falling into that empty oblivion called sleep .

Only , just before that oblivion claimed him , he thought that he heard that voice asked : " You would'nt mind if I use your senses to make some observations would'nt you ? Or perhaps communicate with you from afar? Don't worry . I'll just be observing . That's all . "

If he could have shrugged permison , he would have, but the blanket of sleep swept across the last vestiges of conciousness.


	5. Chapter 4: Innovator's Dawn

A/N Sorry for mixing up the Chapters . The previous chapter should be considered Chapter three .

Chapter Four : Innovator's dawn.

Morning's light once more shined it's benediction down through the window . As the first motes of the dawn sailed in . The twin inhabitants within awoke from their slumber, amidst a sea of contraptions most unique , a testament to the ingeniousness of the men who inhabited the abode within . And faintly , the farewell whisper sang out to them " You'll know me in that moor of tomorrow . "

That message sank into their minds , then quickly faded from the domains of consciousness , leaving only an unexplained sense of anticipation . Seconds before a pair of twins in St Ottery Catchpole were to awake , an electric blue flash momentarily winked in , and out of existence.

It sped across some netherspace at Superluminal speeds , before flashing into existence in a bed room of a certain girl over two hundered kilometers away . There were fourteen in all , fourteen blue orbs that flashed into existence over their seemingly slumbering mistress . They formed into a circle , rotating thrice . Then , like a hawk hunting it's prey , they dived all at once into their mistress .

Moments later , two pairs of dark eyes opened their pools to the world.

Several hours later , Harry excitedly paced up and down the room . Above , the minutes of the clock slowly and petualntly ticked by . The afternoon sun commernce it's long decent down below the horizon. Soon . Very soon , he'll be free of the Dursely's once again . And , he was going to see the World Cup of what had to be the very best sport humans had ever invented : Qudditch . That put him in an exurbant mood that shoved all those dreams/visions he had been experiencing to the back of his mind . Then , that voice spoke into his mind . It was the voice of the girl in his dreams .

_Harry Potter . Do not respond to me outloud . Respond to me mentally . Within fourty five minutes , give or take a few seconds , the Weasely's would be arriving . The twins are planning something entertaining , in all probability .There are somethings I need to confirm first , so , I would like permission to observe from your eyes and ears. Don't worry . You'll have full use of your body , I guratnee it . _

Harry nearly jumped out his skin when he heard the voice .

_You can actually do that ? Take control of someone's body ? _He asked incredously .

_Dark Wizards today can do that , Harry . The easiest method is prohibited World Wide by the ICW . But there are other ways Harry to do that still . Besides , you should already know that . Rememeber that Diary ? _

Harry shuddered . _Thanks for ruining my mood . _He responded sourly .

_I could delete that from your mind if you want , but I'll doubt you'll appreciate it . Don't worry . If you want I'll teach you how to defend your mind from intrusions . How about this – in exchange for being able to look through your mind for the next 48 hours , I'll teach you Occlumancy – the art of mental defense ?_

_Oh very well . _Harry responded.

The next instant , he felt a presence at the back of his mind . It should have made his skin crawled , but it did not . Instead , it radiated a sense of security outwards.

_Are you doing that on purpose?_

_Would you rather I make you uncomfortable ? _The voice wrly replied . _Oh , by the way , I'll also teach you summoning and the packing Charm and space extention charms . It'll save your time with your luggage. Not to mention various other nifty spells ..... _

Harry .

_The twins will go on to do great things ... if they survive . Many who may achieve greatness do not , especially in perilous times like this , Harry . That is also why I am here . Today , you will see the first trace of that brilliance. _

It took every ounce of his self-control not to suddenly jump at that unexpected remark , considering the tension of the atmosphere.

It was already twenty -five past five .

_Eyes on the electric fireplace , Harry. _

What happened five minutes later was quite entertaining . Even the presence in him seemed to thing so – it seemed to postively ooze of amusement at that . But the true fun had not yet begun , until after Mr Weasely blasted apart the boards that blocked the fireplace.

His self appointed guest though made quite an interesting comment about Arthur Weasely though

_ArthurWeasely's personality , confirmed . I always enjoyed talking with this particularly curious soul . But , he's woefully reflective of how far behind the Wizarding world is from the rest of humanity . _

"**Having a good holiday, Dudley?" the very man in question said kindly. **

_Definitely Arthur Weasly. _

**Dudley whimpered. Harry saw his hands tighten still harder over his massive backside.**

**Fred and George came back into the room carrying Harry's school trunk. They glanced around as they entered and spotted Dudley. Their faces cracked into identical evil grins.**

_And now , you will witness the genius of the twins themselves. _

**A bag of sweets had spilled out of Fred's pocket and the contents were now rolling in every direction - big, fat toffees in brightly colored wrappers.**

**Fred scrambled around, cramming them back into his pocket, then gave the Dursleys a cheery wave, stepped forward, and walked right into the fire, saying "the Burrow!" Aunt Petunia gave a little shuddering gasp. There was a whooshing sound, and Fred vanished.**

_Perfect ! No Divergence detected . _The voice seemed to be somehow triumphant about that.

But Harry was'nt listening at that time . Instead , for the first time in his life , an adult figure was standing up for him .

**Well… 'bye then," Harry said to the Dursleys.**

**They didn't say anything at all. Harry moved toward the fire, but just as he reached the edge of the hearth, Mr. Weasley put out a hand and held him back. He was looking at the Dursleys in amazement.**

"**Harry said good-bye to you," he said. "Didn't you hear him?"**

"**It doesn't matter," Harry muttered to Mr. Weasley. "Honestly, I don't care."**

The presence now felt strange . Almost like... sympathy . It was like having not just one comforting hand on one of his shoulder , but another hand on the other shoulder too.

_I don't need your sympathy . _

Harry heard a sigh , and immediately felt guilty about that .

**Mr. Weasley did not remove his hand from Harry's shoulder.**

"**You aren't going to see your nephew till next summer," he said to Uncle Vernon in mild indignation. "Surely you're going to say good-bye?"**

**Uncle Vernon's face worked furiously. The idea of being taught consideration by a man who had just blasted away half his living room wall seemed to be causing him intense suffering. But Mr. Weasley's wand was still in his hand, and Uncle Vernon's tiny eyes darted to it once, before he said, very resentfully, "Good-bye, then."**

"**See you," said Harry, putting one foot forward into the green flames, which felt pleasantly like warm breath. At that moment, however, a horrible gagging sound erupted behind him, and Aunt Petunia started to scream. Harry wheeled around. Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and sputtering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth.**

.

**One bewildered second later, Harry realized that the foot-long thing was Dudley's tongue - and that a brightly colored toffee wrapper lay on the floor before him.**

_Mr Potter , you are witness to one of the Twin's earliest inventions . The twins may be putting their attention to antics like this , but trust me , they might do far more than them . You do not stand alone in this endavor . The Twin's are another one of those with a part to play too . _

Harry's mind processed it on one level , but the entertaining carnage that was taking place before him captured most of his attention . Later on , those words would be recalled and be a source of strength . But right now ... the here and now was too good to miss.

Until Uncle Vernon started throwing the Chinaware straight at Mr Weasly.

"**Harry, go! Just go!" Mr. Weasley shouted, his wand on Uncle Vernon. "I'll sort this out!"**

It was only when the second piece grazed his ear that he was force to decide that disceretion was the better part of valor . He stepped into the emerald green fire – and out of the Dursley's yet again for another year .

The presence seemed to have been strangely subdued – faint , more accurately. Almost satisfied , somehow . Throughout the night , she observed the proceedings with a sort of detatched bemusement . That suited Harry fine . She did leave one gift however . The sense of security and warmness that always seemed to surround that presence amplified that same sense of warmness he always got from the Burrow . On one level , he knew that much of his feelings were artifical . Yet having been deprived of such emotions for much of his life.... well , why refuse a rarely experience gift?

It was , however , somehow slightly more interested whenever he was conversing with his other two friends . It was good to see them after such a long time, as it always had been . He wondered , however , whether Ron was one of those that was called . He had already inferred that Hermione had been also contacted , but he had no time to speak with her in private . Or perhaps he had no inclinations to do so . Why waste such a peaceful night talking about such heavy things like that anyway ?

When he was awoken my Mrs Weasly the next morning , the presence was gone . As if it was a mere emphermal dream . It did leave a gift behind . Somehow , despite the limited sleep he had , he felt most energized .

In a nearby bedroom , two red haired twins looked at two velvet pouches , then at each other . Finally , the pouches snapped shut , and the twins took one each .

Twenty minutes later....

Taken from the Goblet of Fire , Chapter 5 , The Portkey.

"**George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.**

"**What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.**

"**What is that in your pocket?"**

"**Nothing!"**

"**Don't you lie to me!"**

**Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "Accio!"**

Nothing came out at all .

Mrs Weasely stared at disbelief for a moment . Then , she turned and glared sharply at the twins .

" Turn out your pockets. "

There was nothing inside the pocket .

She glowered for awhile , then threw her hands up in defeat.

Harry was impressed by that . Everyone knew that the twins were almost likely to attempt smuggling out their inventions to the World cup . Common sense dictated so . But how did they managed to pull of such a feat?

While Mrs Weasely kissed her husband , Hermione gave a small , knowing smile , and a look that clearly meant - I'll tell you later.

There was a strange infectious jubilation emitted from the twins as the group set of for the Portkey that would take them to be World Cup.

Another blue orb , visible to only her returned to her palm , re subsumed into her . She stood up from her chair , and gave a chershire cat like grin to her parents .

" Mum , Dad , would you allow me to explore on my own for a while ? "

They would agree of course . And think nothing unusual of it .

Once she got away sufficiently far from the tent , she focused for the moment . In the next instant , what stood in the girl's place was most definitely not 12 . Taller , slightly darker in skin color . Her hair had turned from dark brown to a more auburn shade . Her eyes changed a little , softening , though her chin remained as prominent as ever . Her eye color itself , however was piercing electric blue .

She silently cast an inconpicouity spell , melding in with her surroundings , and even the people around her . She focused again , drawing from the ambient magic around her . The magic core of her host had an above average capacity for her time , though not exceptionally so . The next moment , two azure velvet pouches appeared. The first contained nearly 500 legal tender galleons . It was hopelessly simple to obtain money in this time and place . A few simple financial manipulations , some electronic hacking , AI assisted investment planning based on historical data and a forged identity was sufficient . Of course , if you were from this time and space , it was impossible to pull this off ... but coming from several milleniums into the future did give all sorts of advantages.

One of her AI picked up a signal at a nearby coordinate. Then two . Her quarries had arrived , after all . Now , all she had to do was to trail them for a while . Such primitive devices , these port keys . But , it was the seeds of future advances for humanity . Everyone has to start somewhere , so the old saying went .

She simply faded away from her current location , leaving no trace in her wake .

The twins made their excuses as soon as possible , slipping of once the tent was set up. There was a huge , huge market out there , a world of opportunities . Once sufficiently far from their campsite , they began peddling their inventions through many various means . Needless to say , they enjoyed quite alot of sucess with some of their inventions . The reception , especially from the younger generation was positively raptous .

Watching it all was a fairly bemused women with penetrating blue eyes – concelaed by Sun Glasses.

" It never get's old , does'nt it ? " She murmured under her breath .

Looking away from two German teenagers experimenting with what they could do with an extended tounge , the Time-Traveller herself walked up to the twins .

" Impressive . " She casually remakred to the twins , looking at them . " It's just as they say , Fred and George Weasely . By the way , I believe you droped this . " She held up a blue velvet purse , the same that the twins had carried with them .

" Mr Weasely's , may I please talk with you for a moment . " That voice brokered no opposition .

The twins stood stunned for a moment . She simply gestured to an aclove of bushes nearby .

They relucantly followed.

" I have heard rumors of your work , Fredrick and George Weasely . And I dare say , that reality matches my expectations . " The women took of her sunglasses , her blue eyes meeting the twins . " Now , those two pouches belong to me , by rights . But you may keep it , Mr Weasely's . "

" So you were the ones -" George begun.

" Who wrote that letter ?!" Fred completed .

She closed her eyes and recited it per verbatim .

Dear Mr Weasely's .

Your excellent works has come to my attention. I would like to arrange a meeting with you at the Qudditch World Cup . If you accept , please bring the two pouches enclosed to the world Cup . Until then , you may use it as you see fit . They are charmed with a bottomless bag spell and anti-summoning charms .

Well wishes

R.

She opened her eyes again . " Does that satisfy you , Mr Weasely's ?"

They nodded .

" We were -"

" Wondering "

"How you - "

" Came to know us ! " They said together.

She merely gave a mysterious smile . " Maybe later , Mr Weasely's . For now , consider me a prospective investor . " Another pouch suddenly appeared in her hands .

" In this pouch , there's 500 Galleons . You may use it as you see fit , to support the development and testing of the items for your joke shop . " She dangled the pouch infront of them .

They both stood speechless .

" I would give it to you . On certain conditions . " Even the Twins did not know how she managed to take that contract out of apparently thin air .

" Firstly . For this year , my share of any profits you make is 0 % . On the Second year , this share increses up to 5% . In Subsequent years , I would like a 10% share in the profits . "

They both whistled .

" That's very - "

" Generous of you . "

" But what is - "

" The catch " They finished at once again .

" Very sharp and perceptive , Mr Weasely's . I have a second condition . Free ascess to any of your products up to 100 galleons per month , minimum . Any orders beyond that would be paid on cost of production . "

" That sounds resonable . " They said together .

" The Third Clause , Three years from here on out , I may propose or commision you at will to device certain products that I may need . "

They winced .

" The mauruders had a saying . I Solemly swear I am up to no good . Let me inverse this . I solemly swear that I am not up to no good , so mote be it , by my life , and magic . " A blue flashed enveloped her . She then conjoured up a small ball of light to prove that her magic was still intact.

" Awesome ! Wandless magic ? " They said in unision .

The time-traveller nodded . " Set your minds at ease . I will tell you , the purpose of my products , and give you the right of refusal if IT violates your consicence . You do have a conscience , Mr Weasely's , else you would not have been uncomfortable with my last clause . " She smiled .

" Transfer terms to Contract . " She waved her hands . The paper flashed for awhile , duplicated , and her clauses were written down one by one on both contract papers .

" That seems - "

" In order" Fred finished after both of them scruntinized it .

They both whipped out quills to signed the copy with them .

She took out a blood quill and signed with a flourish the Greek Alphabet Rho . Crimson droplets began falling from her hand , and her signature was inked in on blood on both contracts .

They stared for a moment , biting back an oath .

She simply nodded gravely in return . " Both of you are more significant than you know . Mr Frederick and Georege Weasely , we will meet again . " She offered the pouch to the twins. "Keep it safe , Mr Weasely's. "

They gave a rougish grin . " Oh , we do now how to "

She gave an amused laugh at that response . " Until next time then . ' She begun to turn away , then turned back , as if remembering something .

"One more warning . Do not bet my investment on the match . Especially not against Bagman . Well then , enjoy the World Cup . " With that , she dissapeared with a pop.

When she arrived at her destination less than a second later , she dropped the glamour charm disguising her, and quickly focused on sealing the wound up completely . Within seconds , all traces of the wound dissapeared . However , the effort of that gave her a momentarial headache .

" The downsides of a limited magical core , I suppose . " She sighed . " I better recharge this body for what's to come tonight , I guess . " With that , she walked back to her tent . Barely an hour had passed – and the first of her objectives were complete .


	6. Chapter 5: Confidant

Chapter 5: Confidant

_You may confide in Hermione . _

Only God knew how much he wanted to share what had happen , these visions with someone . His hands was basically moving on autopilot , His first instinct was to speak to Dumbledore about this . Surely the time traveller would have had approached Dumbledore too . There were so , so many questions that he still wanted to answer , but the time-traveller seemed to be doling out information in dribs and drabbles . His Ron – influenced side resented this severely , but on the other hand , the Hermione voice in his head pointed out that , would that time-traveller explain everything at once , his head might have well exploded figuratively . If he had not given his word to keep her existence a secret from everyone save Hermione , he might have had sent a letter to Dumbledore . Yet , he did not have the foggiest idea of how to explain what was going on to Dumbledore , when he had the barest idea of what to write . Besides , what was he going to say ?

**My scar hurt . I had a dream concerning Voldermort . A time traveller visited me in my dream . I am hearing voices from that purpoted said time-traveller. **

That sounded very wrong , on so many levels. Frankly , it made him sound insane .

He snorted . Sometimes , he was amazed that being raised by the Dursely's did not turn him into an outright lunatic . Maybe HE was going insane , imagining it all . So lost was he in his thoughts that he failed to notice the Twins slipping away.

Ron was out of the question obviously . He would be at even more of a loss as to what to do in this situation . So , that left Hermione obviously. And that itself posed a dilema . If the time-traveller did not pay a call to Hermione's dreams ( and as far as he knew , that time-traveller probably could only visit the dreams of one person at the time – but then again , maybe not ) , Hermione may very well be plunging into textbooks concerning mental ailments both magical and muggle . And if she had been contacted .... well , he had already given his word . Obviously , he needed to find someplace private to communicate with Hermione in . But would he get the opportunity to do so ? And what would he say ?

It struck him . He had a solution to his quandry . He now just needed an opportunity .

" Harry ?" Hermione's voice intruded upon his thoughts .

" Hey mate , are you alright ? " Ron asked , with as much concern as he could muster given his personality.

Harry felt extremely foolish there and then . He was standing , mallet in hand , infront of a completed tent .

" Harry ? " It was Mr Weasely this time , concern on his face.

He jumped at that , feigning surprise . " Um erm , yeah . Just a little tired , I zoned out for a moment . " Harry was bending the truth there .

" Do you need to rest inside the tent for awhile first ? " Harry stared at the magical tent infront of him . How were they supposed to fit in , he wondered?

He voiced that thought outloud , per verbatim .

Mr Weasely gave a puzzled look . " It'll be a little cramp , but we'll fit in . "

" How ? " Hermione asked quizzically .

Mr Weasely turned towards her . " Hmm ? " His bewilderment was even clearer .

Suddenly , the exalted expression of realization came over Hermione . " Oh , I see now . " She said .

" Space-extension charms . May I Mr , Weasely?"

Mr Weasely nodded , confusion still written on his face .

" I'm right ! " Harry curiously followed her in . Come to think of it , she was indeed right . What seemed to be a normal tent appeared to be a full fledge three room flat , though complete with the smell of cats . If Mrs Fig was a witch , he would have thought that Mr Weasely borrowed in from her .

**Mr. Weasley, came on in , mopping his bald patch with a handkerchief and peering in at the four bunk beds that stood in the bedroom. "I borrowed this from Perkins at the office. Doesn't camp much anymore, poor fellow, he's got lumbago."**

**He picked up the dusty kettle and peered inside it. "We'll need water…"**

There was the opportunity . He surreptitiously went to Hermione and quietly whispered . " There's something I would like to discuss with you private – and this might be a good opportunity " She nodded, but a dubious smile played across her face.

" Hermione and I would get it . " He was not particularly religious ( the Durselys expressed that he was unworthly of even stepping into the Church , the irredemable Freak he was , as Uncle Vernon put it . ) , but right now , he would pray that Ron would not ask to join them – not that he thought it would really help though . Sure enough -

" I'll join you . " Ron said , his ears burning a little red , embarassed .

Harry inwardly groaned , but Hermione simply shot him a brief bemused look , which Ron utterly missed .

Nevertheless though , it was quite an interesting experience , even if he had no opportunity to speak to Hermione in private. Plus , he got to see Cho Chang again , though he feared that he might have made a fool of himself. Why did he keep doing it infront of her , of all people , he wondered? Then , there was Oliver Woods , who dragged him away , gushing on and on about him . He idly wondered whether the time-traveller approached Oliver . There was no way of knowing .

Then , there was the matter of foreign schools . He was surprised to learn of that , but also surprised that he felt surprised about hat too . Not to mention a little foolish.

When they finally returned to camp , they saw the twins grinning madly , as if they had scored a great sucess . Harry idly wondered what happened to make the twins that exurbant . It was almost as if they were floating on one cloud above nine . Maybe their products netted them a few investors . Maybe.... However , they seemed to be slight wary around Bagman . Yet another strange mystery to solve .

He could not have known how right he was .

A series of voices interrupted his chain of thoughts .

So, been keeping busy, Barty?" said Bagman breezily.

"**Fairly," said Mr. Crouch dryly. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."**

"**I expect you'll both be glad when this is over?" said Mr. Weasley.**

**Ludo Bagman looked shocked.**

"**Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun…**

**Still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to took forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"**

**Mr. Crouch raised his eyebrows at Bagman.**

"**We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details -"**

"**Oh details!" said Bagman, waving the word away like a cloud of midges. "They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts -"**

_Cherkov's Gun . _

It was that voice again ! But what did she meant Was he imagining it? He shook his head hard . Perhaps he did need some sleep . But he felt lucid . Wide awake , just like in the morning . He needed to think . To clear his head . Making his excuse after Bagman and Crouch left , he made his way back into the tent for some time alone.

He barely settled down on a chair when he heard a voice coming from the doorway.

" Harry " That was Hermione ,

" Hermione ! " Harry gasped in surprise . " This is the erm – boy's tent !"

Hermione shrugged . " Well ... there isn't a rule against a girl entering ... and you did say you need to speak to me , didn't you ? "

" Erm , um , erm . " What was he going to say .

" . " The words simply tumbled out of his mouth .

Hermione cocked her head in surprise . " A time traveller ? "

Harry nodded , blushing . Why was he blushing anyway

" Well , I also had several too , if you must know . " Hermione's voice contained a hint of surprise .

" A girl ? Dark haired ? Brown eyes ? " Harry finally recovered his composure .

" Yes . So , it is true then . I had my doubts . It sounded so fantastical , but , then , if her description of time is accruate , that explains quite alot of things .... " She mused . Her eyes sharpended . " Sorry for drifting off , Harry . It's just that this is quite fascinating , I must admit . "

It was as if a final lock felled into place . Either this was one seriously screwed up dream , or it was definitely real .

" What do you think , Hermione ? " He asked .

There was a look of determination , and even a slight hint of pity to her eyes . It was an expression he had never seen before , yet .

She softly repllied . " If it is the truth , Harry , know this . I would always stay by your side , no matter what happens . I would never abandon my best friend , ever .. No matter what . To the end . "Resolution armored her voice with steel . She sighed . " Never mind that for now . We can discuss this after the match . "

Somehow , that reassurance made Harry felt something that was incredibly rare in his life . A sense of security . That acompanied him like a never ever heard Mother's lullaby ,, as they walked back together to where the others were.

Several hours later, a certain young girl sitting at the Middle Level of the great Stadium gave out a sigh of resignation . Never mind . The young child would learn prudence from this mistake . She had a long way to go to change the habits of that child . His habits had to be reshaped , one way or the other .

The time traveler , who signed off her name as R turned her full attention back to the ongoing match . Her facial expression took on the form of rampant excitement at the aerial carnage enveloping above here , but inside , there was only amusement at the quaintness of the game . Then again , the Wizarding World of this time normally was quite quaint and queer in itself . It was safe to say that if it wasn't so , that world would be an anomaly .

On another thought though , the fact that the players on this time had minds that were largely unshielded . This gave her an unrestricted assess into the minds of every single player – and the referee within the game . In fact , if she had so chose , she could have opened her mind itself to every single thought in the stadium , and soak in the ecstasy . True , experiencing the thoughts of a hundred thousand minds at once might have strained her total mental processing capacity quite a bit , but some might argue that the sheer exuberance and joy derived from such a horde of jubilant minds were more than worth it .

Her attention was fixed to the interplay of Minds within the pitch . The responses , the predictions , the split second changes in thinking and adjustments in preconceptions that subconciously occured among the Qudditch Players as the game changed . The sound made by the minds of each player provided a far more richer view of the reality of the game than sight alone .

A Wronskei Fient from the Bulgarian seeker Krum . Aiden Lynch's mental response towards that . The electrifyingly shocking realization that it was a fient . The exhiliration and intensity of emotions as the Irish seeker attempted to avoid kissing the pitch . The satisfaction from Krum as his foe snogged with Gaia's skin . Overlaying all this were the continuous resolute concentration from every Chaser within the game . The tracking of the battle raging within the sky above . The girl felt things that no eye could ever witness , no ears could ever hear . A symphony of thoughts most beautiful .

The other quarries her expansive conciousness were tracking were bringing in interesting results . As expected , that silly young boy's wand had just been stolen . Clearly , the influence of a certain red head was as strong as ever . Sometimes , the traveller wished that the Harrys she met were influenced by Hermione insted . Alas , that was most rare. Helens and Harriets maybe . Harry , no .

And then , there was the question of Barty Couch the Younger . She could terminante that person tonight , if she so chose . But , that would not have changed the outcome one iota at all. There were many other ways Voldermort could revive . Nor would she intervene to change things from the most likely course in this manner even if she could . Besides , it was impossible to track down and terminate Voldermort's main soul even if all of Riddles Horcruxes were eliminated . Voldermort had to regain a body to be killed once and for all .

Her aural senses detected a massive roar surging around the entire stadium . She left some of her AI s to ponder the matter while the main attention of her soul was directed towards the outside world . Ireland won . Not surprising , and quite reassuring , since this more or less proved that this timeline was a E class timeline . Without any interference , the time-line would proceed along the most likely path . That made this a reasonably easy task , compared to some other time-lines.

Her personality subroutines engaged in an animated conversation with her "father " so to speak . He did not know , of course , that the personality and soul inside his daughter's body was not his daughter at all . A Qudditch fan , he was . She could sympathize with him . Back in the core time-lines , she enjoyed Erkae-Dejunmn , probably as much as many Qudditch and Soccer fans would enjoy their own sport . It was slightly strange , really . The man resembled her real father in some ways . Of course , the Old Man was long dead . Self-termination from existence fatigue . She could truly sympathize with the ghosts in many ways . This plane of existence had not yet wearied her , the Great Journey Beyond was something she had not yet seriously considered . Why should she ? She had not yet experienced the Multi-verse to the fullest yet . By Terra , she had not yet found one of her soul-mate yet to begin with even .

The crowd pushed them through , down and down , out of the stadium . Her feet moved automatically , their master delegating their commannd to the least of her servants . There was an excitement within the air , animated chatterings of the most amazing match that had taken place . They will talk of this one for years , she kept hearing .

She decided not to surpress the snort in response to that . Things would get much more interesting – in the chinese sense of the word anyway .

She barely took note when the minds she was observing previously moved out of range one by one .

" - try for the Qudditch team this year ? "

Interesting . Never , ever had that question cropped up in all her incarnations . It was fresh, pleasant surprises like this that kept her going . She quickly reviewed the conversations her personality Subroutine AI had conducted . She considered the matter for a moment , a genuninely pensive look on her face . Of course , trying for the team this year was out of the question , given that Tournament coming up . But , it did make a certain sense , so to speak . Not to mention , in eight previous tours of duty , three of which were conducted in this time-period give or take twenty years, she had never ever played on a Qudditch team . Yes . She'd supposed it'd be an interesting , and unique experience , in no way threatening to diverge from her objectives .

" Maybe . " She gave that confident smile on her face . " If I could make it in , it would be a useful platform to make connections . After all , Harry Potter's on it . " That made her sound like a Harry Potter fan-girl . Ah , well , it fitted the character she was supposed to be .

" That is , of course , if it was not suspended for something unusual – like some international tournament maybe ? Never mind , that's a ridiculous thought . " There . They won't be surprised if she claimed to be a seer later on if she kept dropping such hints of precognition .

She tested her own abilities of precognition . Dark . It was almost certain that there would be mayhem tonight . More proof that this was an E-class timeline .

They walked further into the night , together as a family as the crowd thinned out . There were certain interesting emotions involved in being in a child's body once again . Such as the sense of shelter and warmth of a parent beside you . This coming from someone who had to act as a parent in a previous tour of duty smacked of a certain weird kind of irony . Of course , she could not show that kind of side to any of her other charges. It would be.... messy if any of them was to ever fall for her at all . But out here …. there were something that extra mental capacity and cognitive abilities could not buy . For everything else of course , there were AI s.

She decided to enjoy the lighter side of life for awhile , her soul's attention locked onto her affectionate conversation with that family . It was a rare luxury in her duty. She shifted her various task prioritization to her AI s . They were good at it anyway , Around her , the song of celebration and joy, raw as they were , were like beautiful hymns lifting her soul to an exalted height .

From the Goblet of Fire , Chapter 9 : The Dark Mark.

The throngs engulfing the group was like an immense river , a flood pushing them all out of the stadium . **Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns. When they finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mr. Weasley agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in**

Soon , it seemed like everyone around the table were caught up in an excited discussion about the match . Hermione looked around , and subtly tapped Harry on the shoulders . She gestured towards the tent flats , and silently moved out . Harry caught the hint , and followed her .

Outside , there was singing , and light , like some incredible carnival . Harry followed Hermione to a small clump of trees behind the tents .

There was a silence for a brief moment .

" Well ? " Hermione asked .

" Well what ? "

" She basically told me that you would have had some questions you would want to ask . " Hermione informed , a slight frown on her face .

" Oh , yeah . " Harry just then remembered . This was really getting awkward . Calm down . What was it that he wanted to ask ? He took a deep breath . This was Hermione after all – one of his closest friends ? Why were his thoughts in a jumble ?

" What do you think ? " He finally got out .

Hermione paused for a moment , biting her lower lips . " About that girl who appears in our dreams , you mean ? I see no reason not to doubt her words at face value . " She considered for a moment , her teeth sinking even further into her lower lips . " All the same , I see no reason to believe that everything she says is exactly as it seems . She wants something , that much is for sure . She has some kind of agenda beyond simply saving time-lines , that much I'm sure of . Or , at the very least , her superiors have some kind of agenda . "

Harry blinked , astounded . " Her superiors ? "

Hermione sighed . " Honestly ,Harry , what exactly did she to speak to you about ? "

He thought about it carefully . All those conversations he had with that girl still felt as if they were engraved in his head. If he was not thinking about it , those memories felt like some kind of fading , half remembered dream . It was only when he actively pondered the contents about the dream did it become extremely vivid , as if engraved in his head . But , where to begin ?

" It's quite a complicated story Hermione . " He stopped for a moment to consider . Should he tell her about the dream before that first encounter ? Yes . He intended to tell someone about it eventually , anyway .

" It began three nights ago . Just before I received Ron's invitation for the Qudditch World Cup . There were two dreams that night . The first was a nightmare , the second... was the first time I saw that girl . " He proceeded to explain the dream concerning Voldermort , and the murder of that muggle . He hesitated for awhile at that point . How was he going to explain that he awoke from that dream , only to find himself in another ? But he reasoned she was clever enough to understand it . " Then , things got even more bizzare . The next moment , I thought I woke up in my bedroom . My scar hurt really badly then . " He picked up the pace, relating his thoughts on that . He could even remember , word for word what he considered writing to Hermione about. She gave one of the most amused smiles he ever saw from her when he related that . " How well you know me Mr Potter " , she playfully remarked softly at that .

He laughed a little at that , before proceeding onto his first encounter with that girl . About her proclamation that she had come to save humanity . Something troubling occurred to him there and then. Could it be that she was counting on him to save humanity ? True , he was not the only one she was counting on , but it still frightened him to know that he had the fate of humanity in his hands . He put it and the back of his mind .

Hermione noticed that her closest friend had fallen silent . " Harry ? " There was no response , as the boy was lost in his thoughts . " Harry ? Are you alright ? ". He suddenly jerked at that question , realizing what had happpened . " Yeah , sure . It's just that I was thinking about the second vision – and came to a rather disturbing conclusion . "

He quickly related what happened within the second vision . " She called me a node . Someone who could influence the course of history , Hermione . At it frightens me a lot . " He confessed . " I , who have no special abilities are one of those who hold the fate of mankind in his hands ? I wonder , did she make a mistake , Hermione . Why did she approached me ? Why me ? " Angst , doubt , fear , all those emotions were carried within his voice .

" Don't say that about yourself Harry . No matter what your awful relatives tell you , you are more than that . Remember , you created that partonus just last year . And that was something that I couldn't even manage. If that's not proof that you are more than a mere normal student , I don't know what is . " Hermione gently rebuked .

He stared into the night . " I just want to be normal . To have a normal life . I never asked for this fame . I never asked to be thrown into the center of events , year after year . I don't want that glory , Hermione . " There was a deep kind of longing and pain within his voice . " I would trade all this for a normal family . And to live a normal life of happiness together with both you and Ron , Hermione . I really do . "

Then , Hermione did something exceptional . She embraced Harry , bringing Harry's face to her shoulder . She felt so very warm . It was so reassuring . So reassuring , it was like casting a Partonus all over again . The last time he felt that kind of feeling was when he found out that he was going to be a wizard . Right then , he wished that this moment would be frozen in eternity . This must have been what heaven feels like he decided . Right there and then , a new memory was immortalized in his mind , one powerful enough to make a Partonus . He was suddenly aware that Hermione was whispering into his ears . " I promise you , Harry . If she really tells the truth , I will stick by you . To the very end . Like she said , you are not alone Harry . Not alone . " She whispered that several times , again and again . He had absolutely no doubt that she utterly meant it that way. Time seemed to hang still , out of respect and veneration to this moment . Both of them did not know how long they remained like that , intertwined with one another .

After an indeterminate amount of time , Harry finally pulled away . A thought had occurred to him while in the embrace. Hermione seemed edgy. Almost as if she knew things that he didn't . But should he raise it up there and then ? He took a deep breath .

" Thanks Hermione . " His voice was a little hoarse from emotion . " I really appreciated that a lot . " Take the plunge . She probably had a good reason , if his suspicions were correct .

" But …. ' he hesitated for a moment , " She told you more , didn't she . " The die was cast .

Hermione's face turned troubled . She reluctantly nodded , slightly .

" And I supposed she told you not to tell me , didn't she ?" Harry softly asked .

Another slight nod . " She also told me the reason. You'll know soon enough Harry , though . I'm sorry – forgive me . "

Harry gave a reassuring smile . " I would be hypocrite if I got angry at you over that . She had me make some promises to . "

Hermione returned it , relieved . There would be no re-enactment of the falling out of the previous year.

"But , there are somethings I can tell you right now . " Harry was slightly taken aback at that , but motioned for Hermione to continue .

" It's my own personal suspicions . While there is sufficient evidence for me to conclude that our dreams come from a certain source , the girl looks a little familiar . I can't place a name on her , but I'm positive that she just might be from Hogwarts . Gryffindor itself . "

" What exactly are you implying ?" Harry asked .

" Are her intentions totally pure ? I seriously doubt it . I managed to tease out some details about the society she was from . Apparently , she was sent here . If she is to be believed , there are trillions like her , from a multitude of time lines influencing and assisting other time lines themselves . "

Harry's surprise grew . It was then , that the implications of her explanation about time fully hit home . He tried imagining his existence through out countless alternative existences . There were existences where he was with Sirius , where his parents lived , where he was female …. and existences where he was dead , in all probability . The last possibility really chilled his spine , as if liquid Nitrogen was poured onto it .

" What I do not doubt is that the girl exist . But there are somethings I cannot say for certain . Such as – is she from the future really , as she says ? Or , perhaps , she may have another agenda altogether . We cannot know at all . What makes me more suspicious is the fact that she strongly advised us from refraining to communicate with anyone about this , including Dumbledore. Why , I wonder ? "

Harry considered this for a moment . Hermione had a valid point there . They did not really know her full agenda , not to mention her wishes for secrecy were … a little suspicious .

" But , let's assume she really comes from the future . Perhaps then , she's communicating with Dumbledore – she just doesn't want us to muddy the waters by also telling Dumbledore about this . Perhaps , she fears our attempts at communicating to Dumbledore about this might be intercepted . There's room to give her the benefit of the doubt here . " Hermione pointed out , taking another breath . She then continued .

" However, even then , it may not be her agenda that we must be concerned about . It is the agenda of those who are over her that we ought to be a little wary about . "

" I think I see where this is going ." Harry interjected . " Why should they be concern with our timeline ? How does it benefit them ? "

" Altruism , in other words . How Altruistic are their motives ?" Hermione finished .

" Altrisum ? " Harry asked , puzzled .

" Altruism , Harry . How much are they doing this out of a genuine desire to help , as opposed to intervening out of self-interest . " Hermione said . " I think we are going to consult someone about this , Harry . Perhaps … Padfoot ? " Hermione suggested .

At once , Harry felt incredibly silly for not thinking about it . It should have been obvious after all . But the excitement of the past few days had not leave him much time to ponder on that matter .

" Hermione , that's it . I was only asked to keep it secret until after the World Cup !"

" It's best if we do not tell Si- I mean Padfoot about this directly in a letter . It's best if we do this face to face. Letters can be intercepted after all , and I get the feeling that she may have valid reasons to not getting publicly known . " Hermione warned .

" Why ? " Harry asked , curiously . He never had a chance to hear the answer , for in the very next moment …

BANG!

Suddenly , a enormous explosion was heard in the vicinity, on the far end of the field . Drunken , coarse laughter from a bable of voices filled the air. The next second , screams of terror accompanied , creating a macabre melody .

This definitely did not look good .

Both he and Hermione stared for several seconds at the unfolding chaos . " It's just as she predicted . " The bushy hair girl besides him whispered in a mix of awe and terror.

A/N : The attack on the World Cup has begun ! What will happen next? What does our time-traveler have up in her sleeves? Will she even intervene ?

A/N 2: This was originally meant to be one chapter , but I've decided to split it up into two.


	7. Chapter 6: The First Lesson

Chapter 6: The First Lesson

" What ? " Harry asked , stunned . " What do you mean by that ? "

" There's no time to explain , Harry – Mr Weasely wake the others ! Whatever is causing this -" Sound like gunfire interrupted Hermione's words , accompanied by green flashes that ignited the night sky , " is coming our way !" She yelled over the noise . She sprinted towards the tent quickly , prompting Harry to follow suit . As he turned around , he saw Mr Weasely running back towards the tent . He had been watching them , evidently , for quite sometime . How much did he hear though ? But clearly , Hermione was aware of his presence . Mr Weasely was probably out of ear shot , though , since she did not stop the conversation . Outside , the screams and laughter grew louder and louder. Like some drum beat urging urgency . Now , perhaps , was the wrong time to ponder this further .

Mr Weasely ran out of the male's tent . At the same time , he yelled at Harry and Hermione . " Get into the woods , both of you ! And stay together ! Take care of her Harry! I'll go help the ministry after waking Ginny ! "

They both started running into the woods . As they did so , Harry looked behind at the spectacle behind him .

A burst of green light suddenly illuminated the dark mass approaching the tents . It revealed a **A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. Harry squinted at them… They didn't seem to have faces… Then he realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked.**

**High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air.**

**Two of the figures were very small. More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled. **

Hermione just then turned back . " Watch the trees ahead Harry !"

The very next moment , something really unexpected happened . All four figures simply juist dissapeared for an instance . Were they imagining it ? It was like they were flickering . But , they reappeared the next moment . Most of the crowd hardly noticed what was going on . In fact , it was something that happened so briefly that , unless you were directly observing the spectacle afar , you would miss it .

Four figures suddenly hit , the ground , unconcious , just within the trees , a few meters to their left . And then , under the dimly litted night , the air seemed to shimmer right infront of them for a moment . They could barely make out her features in her dark .

" Well , Mr Potter and Ms Granger . It seems that there's a tiny little bit of trouble right now . " That overly brash , increasingly familiar voice came out from that figure .

They stared in surprise . It couldn't be . Could it?

" Well , who else would it be ? Anyway, this is not a time for chit chatting . Follow me . " With that , a small orb of light suddenly materialized above her palm , and she began walking deeper into the forest .

The sound of the riot was getting closer and closer . It was getting increasingly dangerous .

" Let's get out here . " Harry hurriedly said , as both of them followed after the girl from their dreams .

It was total chaos all around them . The cry's of young children , the panicked calls of parent's , shadowy figures obscured by darkness stumbling around everywhere . Utter madness . And the sound of the riot nearby simply created a concotion exceeding madness .

The Strange Girl's light guided the way , illuminating the ground for a meter throughout . It proved truly helpful in navigating the treacherous forest floor of brambles and roots to both Harry and Hermione . But the girl itself wasn't even looking at the floor . It was as if she was able to anticipate the potential traps and nagivation hazards littering the ground .

Suddenly , the girl spoke . That almost caused Harry to miss his stepping , and trip over the branch .

" Mr Potter , now that we are far away enough , may I suggest for you to check out your wand ? " There was a thin trace of disapproval in her voice . What was she unhappy about though ?

Harry dug through his jeans pocket , both front and back , trying to find his wand . But there was none of the feeling of that familiar thin rectangular shape anywhere in his pockets . Did he leave it in the tent in the confusion ? Or perhaps it dropped on the forest floor .

" Try stolen from your back pocket , Harry . " There was a faintly amused , and slightly contempetous edge to her voice .

" Stolen ? " Harry exclaimed , shocked .

" Yes , Harry stolen . And thanks to your refusal to listen to strong advice , I can't break this rabble up now , else you would'nt get your wand back , unfortunately . Where's your wand holster anyway ? Back in the Barrow , I presumed , burried within your trunk . " Snarkiness filled her voice .

For the second time , Harry felt incredibly stupid . How could he have forgotten the gift of that wand Holster ? That was very stupid of her . And at once , Harry came to a shocking realization . In a way , he was guilty of pro-longing this madness with his lack of attention to details . Stupid , Stupid , Stupid , Unbelievably Moronic . What was he thinking anyway ?

" You were not Harry . And I intend to correct that . The longer you do not think , listen to that Hermione side of you so to speak , the more difficult things will be Harry . " Her voice began sounding much like Mc Gonagall . Strict , brokering no opposition .

" Let this be the first lesson I teach you Harry . Always THINK , and consider advise seriously . You better get your act together , or things like this would just keep happening . " There was a severity to her voice , that intimidated Harry into a humiliated silence .

" Alright . " He answered , his embarrassment and humiliation clear in his voice.

" That's not that fair . " Hermione protested.

The girl spun around , looking Hermione straight in the eye . Both their eyes locked onto one another , on the Strange Girl's side , a look of the most fearsome severity . On Hermione's side , the attempt to suppress the effects that her opponent's intimidating look had on her was clearly reflected on her eyes . At the same time , there was a look of resolute determination in her eyes . There , a clash of wills broke out , and Harry felt like a Rabbit before Giants at that .

Tension hung in the air as it went on and on , both sides refusing to bludge . Seconds passed . And the build up of the clash of wills seemed to slowly charge the air . Suddenly , the Girl broke of eye contact , threw her head back , and gave a hearty laugh .

" Excellent Hermione ! Excellent ! You are willing to stand up for your best friend . I have no worries at all now , about you . " Briefly , a twinkling smile broke out across her face , but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared .

" However , Hermione , you cannot protect this boy from his weaknesses forever . He must learn to overcome them , the bad habits that he has picked up over the years . " The girl admonished , almost as if she was ten times older than she appeared . Perhaps she was .

Hermione began opening her mouth to protest , but the Girl simply held her hand up , requesting silence . The commanding presence behind that voiceless request compelled Hermione to repsect it . " Search your heart Hermione . You know full well that your best friend has many , many weaknesses , that you would like to change . You just don't know how . You fear losing his friendship after all . "

Hermione fell silent at that thought , considering those words .

" You agree with me . " The Girl Simplied said . " Now , that you can see your thoughts are an open book , are you willing to take up my offer now ?"

There was an uncharacteristic bashfulness about Hermione , almost … embarrassment . Now that was novel .

" Don't worry Hermione . As long as you learn the flaw of pretending being omniscient . " Harry was positive that the smile the girl gave positively sparkled in the dark . Perhaps that was his imagination though .

" Well , shall we move on ? " The girl began walking further . At the edge of the woods , behind them , there were a succession of loud bangs . They hurriedly followed suit.

They silently walked around the woods for several minutes , the sound of terror , of screaming and of malicious laughter steadily grew fainter .

" By the way , were those four people that appeared near us also the same four that were being tortured just now ? " Hermione quietly asked . " And , how did you mange to create an illusion to full them ? "

" Always inquisitive , aren't you ? Very well , Hermione , they are indeed those four . I used an indirect apparation method not yet invented in this time to transport them away . And you are right , they are indeed illusions . But , you can't make them that life like ,yourself . An AI avatar is currently in command with those illusions , making them as life like as possible . An unaided human mind is incapable of commanding these illusions , and doing something else simultaneously . Certainly not to the level of realism my AI is currently achieving . " The girl made it sound no more out of the ordinary as making tea.

Hermione remained quite for a moment , pensive in thought . What did that off hand statement seemed to suggest for the society she was from ? She considered for a moment the incredible life-likeness of those illusions . That picture of sheer terror , of contorting bodies , writhing exactly as humans did. And her conversation with Harry suggested that such feats were at the tip of the iceberg . For , three nights ago , she remembered waking up at seven thirty in the morning , immediately after what seemed like hours of conversation with the self-proclaimed Time-traveler . Could it be that the girl was communicating with both of them simultaneously ?

Then , there was the matter of that Girl's claims . Did she really come from the future ? Hermione found it hard to think of time in anything less than linear – the previous year , she had devoured Textbooks concerning the nature of Time and Magic after receiving her time-turner. Yet the feats that she had conducted so far seemed to suggest so. A eleven or twelve years old casually lighting a ball of light wandlessly ? That was almost unbelievable.

And if she did come from the future , what was her agenda ? Right from the onset , she had claimed to be here for the purpose of assisting humanity . She gave a most troubling tale of the future , of the fate of humanity . No . Troubling was an understatement . Horrifying would be more apt . But why would a civilization far more advanced bother with another time-line so many millenniums before it ? Simply pure altruism ? Hermione knew that she would have felt compelled to assist . But , she knew that not everyone shared her idealism . Idealism was not a sufficient incentive to attract legions of volunteers to time-lines millenniums more primitive than their own . Logic hence made her suspect that there was some other motive to this .

She was distinctly unsurprised when the girl spoke up again . Time and time again , the girl proved that she casually and easily understood their thoughts.

" You are conflicted . Your respect for authority is clashing with your own experience . That's why you doubt that I am from the future . Magical theory today has assured you that it's impossible , yet this -" The girl stopped , as the sphere of light illuminating their way swung round , right infront of Hermione's face , "most certainly is impossible from what you know , especially from someone as apparently young as I am . "

She turned to look at Hermione . Even though the look was not addressed at Harry , it's intensity proved most disconcerting .

" Have you heard of the Liars Paradox ? For your benefit Harry , the liar's paradox is an ancient philosophical problem . Is it possible for me to say that I am lying right now ? Here's your answer , both of you . " A single straight ebony twig like stick emerged . A wand .

" On , my magic , and my very existence , I pledge to you that what I say here is the truth . I pledge that I come from the future , to save this timeline . As I've spoken , so mote be it . " A violet flash course through the entire girl , momentarily rendering her an outline of a violet hue .

" Finite . " The light disappeared , sinking into the night , like a light bulb switched of .

" Lumos . " This time , it was a bar of light hovering right before her . She closed her first , forming an O with it . The bar of light obeyed her instantly , transforming into the now familiar sphere of a homely orange light .

" A magical oath . " Hermione breathed .

" What is that ? " Harry asked .

" A magical oath is a binding statement that forces the one who makes it to comply with it's terms . Failure to comply leads to a penalty that the one who made it has specified . In this case , the loss of magic , and death . In the past century , it has proven unpopular , for various reasons . " Hermione's eyes widen . " The ministry outlawed magical oaths ! "

The girl simply gave an amused look . " They can come and arrest me then . But before you start breaking of into hives and chanting , they do not know . There's no means to detect magical oaths , as of this current time . " Hermione opened her mouth to protest indignantly at that , but the girl simplied continued , irregardless. " Obviously , I still have my magic , and I am still alive . This proves without a doubt my claims , does it not ? "

Hermione opened her mouth again , as if to say something , before shutting it again . This astounded Harry . He never seen anyone out maneuver Hermione like that.

" It makes no difference , Hermione . You believe there's a chance that I may know of ways of circumvent a Magical oath , especially if I am from the future . You fear , of course , that you are being overly paranoid , though , and are inclined to believe me . Don't you think it's ironic that you are still suspicious , though you yourself knows that such idealism exist , and that you would eagerly volunteer for my task , if able. "

Hermione nodded silently . " I concede defeat . I'm sorry . " She apologized softly

" You have a rational mind , but one also balanced by an Idealism you cannot find a rational basis for . It's a conflict you have to negotiate in the end. You need to balance idealism with realism . "

Until that point of time , it never occurred to Harry that one of his best friends possessed a flaw of that magnitude . In a way , it humanized her more , though Harry never realized that his concept of Hermione Granger had seen her as larger than life , in many ways . It was a barrier between him and her that fell away at that revelation .

" Let's move on then . There is sufficient time to engage in necessary introspection later . " Her tone clearly brooked no observation . The Girl resumed leading the way through the darkness . Afar , the sounds of the riot was a faint muffled murmur . Curious . What , which would have been terrifying nearby sounded almost frivolous from a far.

" And that's why tragedy's and horrors occur time and time again in human history . To stand up against such is to stand above the crowd . Some , can choose not to stand , but for some , there is no choice . You must stand above the crowd , or perish . " The girl softly commented as they trekked further into the forest.

The forest fell silent , as the minutes passed . There was almost no sound , save the rustle of the leaves as the group passed across the seemingly empty forest . Here and then , they saw faint glowing lights in the distance , as unidentifiable people passed by , but never intersecting them. The light ahead seemed to reveal nothing but trees and more trees . They heard faint humming in the woods ahead .

Humming ? Humming in this condition ? What was exactly going on ? That was really surprising to Harry .

Whoever it was , it was coming closer . They could begin to hear the rustling of the lift , mixing with the harmony of the humming . Then , they heard a sudden muffled cry , and , the very next second , a sickeningly loud crack . It sounded like a bone breaking . Harry should have known – he had his bones broken so often that the sound was more or less permemantly stucked to his memory like that fly on that fly paper he recalled Aunt Petunia using when he was eight or so .

His instincts then kicked over , and he walked towards the source of the sound. That cracked sounded quite bad . If someone had sprain an ankle , or broke his or her foot , he most certainly could not leave him or her out in the forest , not especially with those masked men out there .

The orb of light behind him followed behind closely , illuminating the way before him . Behind him , Hermione let out a gasp of surprise , that he registered and placed at the back of his mind . Seconds later , right infront of him , illuminated by the orange orb now hovering to his right was another young girl . She had dirty blond scraggy hair that extended all the way up to her waist.. But what was most astounding about her was the strange , distant , and almost distracted look within her eyes . It was almost as if it was staring into another world . Added to the fact that her eyeballs seemed to buldge a little , seemed a little overly large , and it made her a most disconcerting person . It did not help that her eyes were silverish in color . Strangest of all , the girl remained silent , though judging from the condition of her twisted ankle , it was unlikely that she would have remained silent .

" Hello . " Her eyes swung up towards Harry Potter's forehead for a brief moment . " And you must be Harry. I'm Luna Lovegood. " She introduced herself, then as if she was aware of that discomfort looked down again . Whatever the case , Harry was quite grateful at that , but the next statement really threw him of balance . " Your wrackspruts told me you were coming . " There was five seconds of awkward silence . Then , their third companion broke it . " He does not know what Wrackpurts are Luna . "

" Oh . " She again remained silent for a brief moment . " Wrackspurts are ... invisible creatures that go through your ears . They make your brain go fuzzy . "

Another deafening silence .

Hermione broke it . " Did you break anything just now ? We heard a loud crack nearby . "

" Oh ... I think I broke my ankle when I tripped over the branch over there . " Luna maddeningly vaguely remarked. Indeed , under the light , it looked swollen , and the balls of her right ankle seemed disjointed . By Merlin. What was up with this queer blond hair girl ? By all accounts , she should have been screaming in agony .

" It looks rather bad . I would treat it with Episkey , but I'm no healer , so I don't think it's wise for me to try . I'm not even sure whether Episkey's good enough for this. " Hermione murmured , examining the ankle .

" Let me , Hermione . "

" But ... "

The other strange girl gave a highly amused look at Hermione .

Hermione immediately blushed in embarrassment . " Sorry . I forgot . " She apologized.

The girl gave no reaction to that apology , but instead went down , running her hands over Luna's ankle gently . As she went forward , Harry noted with surprise that she had a wand drawn out . He never ever saw her with a wand before . Always , her magic was done wandlessly . Perhaps , it was to keep up appearances ?

The girl's mouth moved , a voice so soft and unlike her usual assertive tone . Neither Harry , nor Hermione could identify what was being said . No . Hermione's face clearly shown recognition of the first part of the murmurs . But , there was the puzzled and curious look to Hermione face that he saw so often that it was lodged into his memories as to the second part .

" Can you lip read ? " He asked Hermione out of curiosity . He never had occasion to suspect this .

" Yes . " Hermione tersely replied . Her attention was obviously fixed on the other

" Don't waste your life on healing Hermione . There's far , far more to reality than just that . Healing is just a manifestation of something more fundamental to reality. " The young Dark browned haired time-traveler stood up .

" Your ankle should be fully recovered within an hour . I placed in a stasis charm for the next hour though , so you'll need help in getting back . Luna , would you mind if Hermione was to help you back to your father's tent ? "

Without looking for a response , she turned to Hermione . " Are you alright with that ? " Hermione took one hesitant look at Harry . " He'll be safe with me . But you'll need to help Luna back – she can't make it on her own like this . "

Hermione considered briefly , then nodded her assent . She helped Luna up , and slung Luna's arms over her left shoulder . Murmuring Lumos , both of them slowly made their way away from Harry and the Time-traveler .

" Luna Lovegood is an interesting person . Queer , but interesting . " The girl commented as both of them continued on . " In many ways , she's like you , Harry ."

That disturbed Harry a little . Did it meant he was sometimes off his rocker .

The amusement from his companion was palpable . " No , Harry . " She grew grimmer . " Do you remember your school life before Hogwarts? How you could never had made friends ? Where every day , you lived in the fear of being bullied by your porcine cousin, " Harry laughed a little at that , " and his friends ? "

Memories came to the fore once more . Unpleasant memories . It was like an old scar bleeding anew- he should know . The agony of isolation , of never having any companionship at all.

" I'm sorry to open up old scars , Harry . But do you now understand what Luna has to go through , everyday in Hogwarts? " His companion softly murmured.

If Luna had to live every day of her life like that , in Hogwarts . Harry shuddered at the horrifying prospect . Was Luna's behavior a sign of ultimate fate , if he had never gone to Hogwarts? How old was that pale blond hair queer witch anyway ?

" Malfoy , is just one example of bullies in the magical world , you know . For past two years , Luna has been living in a social hell of a sorts . It does not help that her mother died when she was young . "

Two years . Whatever her differences , Harry knew what it was like to be outcast . What is was like to be all alone . No one , no matter how disconcertingly weird deserved that kind of fate . He shuddered . How was it like to be bullied by magic ?

" Right now , your friend , Ms Granger should be coming to a similar observation , as you do . Did you know that Ms Granger was also outcast before Hogwarts? " There was a softness to her voice , the assertiveness nothing more than a concealed blade .

Harry was surprised at that , but then recalled how Hermione was like in her first year , before that Halloween where their friendship was sealed . Knowing just a little of her life before Hogwarts , explained a lot of her behavior .

And also Ginny Weasely . Ron's younger sister . What was it like for her before Hogwarts? Did the fact that she continued to be just as alone as Harry was before Hogwarts contributed to the ease at which Riddle's diary seized control of her ? Briefly , he wondered whether the rest of the Weasely's were alright .

" Ms Weasely , and the rest of her family are fine . Well , if you consider running into the pampered brat named after Latin for Dragon fine that is . " Harry smiled at that comment .

" But … " Why did it felt as if he was in front of Mcgonagal again ? " Really , had you simply remembered the Wand Holster I sent to you , this situation could have been resolved much , much faster. The truth is , " Her voice grew sharper , " this was a test . And you failed it . With flying colors . "

Harry was totally flabbergasted , and a hint of anger rose in him . " How was I supposed to even know it was a test? What is this test anyway ? " His voice grew increasingly more aggressive and heated with every question . " How was I supposed to know this was going to happen , when you didn't even warn me , but warned Hermione ? " He wanted to yell . But somehow , he felt unable to . " Get out of my head! Stop Tampering with it ! " Harry indignantly pronounced .

" Hmm ...Harry , there are even more unpleasant things that I can tell you , beyond what was going to happen in the Qudditch World Cup. But , if I was to tell you everything , all at once , would I not deprive you of happiness ? If you knew that there would be a riot after the Qudditch World cup , would you be able to enjoy it as much as if you remained in ignorance of what was to come ? " The girl quietly asked .

" I don't want to be kept in the dark ! Not especially if what's going to happen concerns me ! " Harry heatedly responded.

" Fine . Would you sacrifice some happiness to be in the know ? "

" Yes . " Harry responded without thinking .

" Are you sure ? Never mind , I know the answer to that already. But remember , Harry , it was you who made that choice . Not I . " She quietly and gravely answered back .

Silence . You could hear the pin drop on the soft soil with the silence that suddenly engulfed the area . Harry , at that very point of time suddenly realized he had just made a very important decision . A very , very heavy decision , that only time would reveal the ramifications for . And , at that very moment , Harry faintly regretted his words . And his mind shied away from trying to comprehend what had just taken place.

" Let's rewind this argument Harry , to its very roots . I'm sure you want to know what was this lesson about . " She stopped again , and looked right in the eyes at Harry Potter . That prominent , proud face , that confident stance , all of it made her seem way taller than she really was .

" Whenever someone tells you something , gives you an advice , expresses an opinion , chances are , most of the time , there are very very good reasons why they do what they do . Do you follow Harry? "

He nodded. That sounded reasonable .

" Then why get angry at them , instead of striving to understand why ? Especially if they mean you no harm , but well ? Should you not seek to understand , and pay attention to their advice ? To consider whether to take their counsel seriously? " Harry suddenly guiltily remembered his childish falling out with Hermione the previous year over the Fireblot . She had good reasons , in her mind , yet Harry pushed her away in anger . In immaturity . Guilt racked his conscience . It was like biting the hand that fed him – or more accurately helped him . How many more times had he been that immature ? That unemphatic .

" Do not be hard on yourself , boy . The Dursely's never taught you anything at all , most especially not that . What, you should strive for Harry is more empathy . More self-control . And the first step , Harry , is knowing your weaknesses . Besides , every man and women has their own weaknesses . Even Hermione . " The dark clouds that began to warp around his mind scattered away at that thought .

" I apologize for just now , and would like to ask you this , once again . Would you mind if I charm this memory to remain clear ? " She asked ,gently this time .

He nodded . The next moment , he felt something cooling , something soft move around his brain . And the memory of the conversation he had just now shone most vividly in his mind , as it was engraved into his brain . Then it was all over .

" Thank you , Harry . "

Just a mere few seconds later , her face grew hard . A dire expression came upon her face .

" What is - " Harry was about to asked , then frozed.

**It sounded as though someone was staggering toward their clearing. They waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.**

"**Hello?" called Harry.**

" Quiet . " His companion murmured . The wand once more appeared . No – it was a different wand . It was not even a wand . It was a faint blue orb , the likes of which he never saw before . Her eyes became distant for a moment . And , then , Harry realized that there was no footprints behind them , just then . What was going on ?

A silence followed . Harry peered into the trees. Though ** it was too dark to see very far, but he could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of his vision.**

**And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any they had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell.**

"**MORSMORDRE!"**

**And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness Harry's eyes had been struggling to penetrate; it flew up over the treetops and into the sky.**

"**What the -?" gasped Ron as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared.**

**For a split second, Harry thought it was another leprechaun formation. Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.**

**Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. **

_The Dark Mark Harry . Voldermort's mark . A warning of things to come . There's a death eater in front of us . One of Voldermort's servants . _Her grim voice echoed through his head .

He opened his mouth to speak , but decided against it .

_But … Voldermort's not back … is he ? _

_No , Harry . Not yet . Stay put Harry . _

A small shimmering shield erupted infront of both of them , like half a sphere enveloping around them .

Multiple Pops were heard a very short distance away . But the source of those Pops were beyond Harry's field of vision .

_Brace yourself . _Her voice was tense .

The very next moment , a multitude of voices yelled " STUPFEY! " Blinding red light shredded out of the darkness , speeding at them . Harry wanted to run away , wanted to flee from it , but his feet was stuck .

_Calm Down ! This shield will hold . _The girl commanded .

A good many of the Stunners sped right past them , without even coming close to hitting them . But then – one , then two , then three Stunners were speeding in their direction . No – there were more than three . Maybe eight or nine . He lost count Their red glare sped straight at Both of them . It was going to hit , it was going to hit . Harry wanted to shield the girl with his body – if he could move . Adrenaline sped through him , and time seemed to crawl . Closer , and closer those crimson blood red blots approached their shield …. then suddenly , upon impacting the shimmering shield , the crimson blots abruptly scattered into quickly fading red mist . The shield held . The shield held . The shield held against the first stunner and the second , then the third head on .

Then , the paths of the next five stunners seemed to bend away from the shield , as if their path was deflected away from the shield . Harry was awestruck by this display of ability and power . Each time the stunner impacted or diverted , the orb glowed slightly .

" Hang on Harry . " The girl was panting lightly. Clearly , that feat took some effort . Swiftly , on an invisible command , a stick raced across , emerging from the very edge of Harry's vision , speeding straight towards his chest . His Qudditch Honed reflexes kicked in , as he quickly grabbed the wand . The next moment , he felt as if a blanket was wrapped over him , and as if reality was dissolving like some strange syrup .

He blinked . The Dark Mark was now further away from him , smaller . She had somehow transported them across some distance . Then he looked down at the stick that he just caught , and instantly recognized it . It was his wand . Adrenaline coursed through his brain , making him think clearer and faster than usual . Did that meant …

" Yes, Harry . The one who stole your wand was the one who cast the Dark Mark . I can see it most clearly in your wand signature . "

" How ? " Harry asked , shock written in his voice at the same time.

" I have my ways Harry . " She mysteriously remarked . " One moment . Let me clear the spell memory so that it does not get traced back to you . May I hold your wand for a moment . "

Harry numbly nodded , still slightly stunned . The girl quickly ran her hands through the wand , and in its wake , gold motes followed . She handed it back when the last of the Gold motes faded away . " Here , Harry . It's safe now . " Harry nodded , as his shock faded , along with the adrenaline .

" Who casted it ? "He asked .

" I did not get a name from the caster . Too risky . " The girl answered , her normal tone resumed . " In any case , it's safe now . The Rioters have dispersed . "

She began to walk away . Harry followed her . It was likely that they were now at the edge of the woods , for here and there through the trees were the yellow embers of fire .

" We'll soon have to part ways , Harry . "

But there were still many questions left unanswered that Harry seeked an answer to .

" The Weasely's will soon be looking for you Harry . If you do not want them to worry too much , it'll be best to head back to the tent , wouldn't it ? It's somewhere over there by the way . "

Suddenly , Harry knew the approximate direction that the Weasely camping spot was . It was as if someone had installed a compass in his mind , with the direction where he had set up from serving as the North Pole.

She gave a small apologetic smile , as the trees quickly thin out to reveal the moor beyond . It was a plain painted with varying shades of orange , the lights of a multitude of campfires . And in one direction , like an ugly scar through the plains laid the path of the riot . There , small embers of campfires went dark , with flickering flames here and there . The dying flames of flickering tents , giving of thin black smoke in the distance . And Harry knew , that somewhere beyond that ugly scar laid the campsite he had fled from with Hermione a mere few hours ago . His head began spinning . As he recalled what transpired . It was as if he had just gone through a particularly information saturated transfiguration lesson.

" Well , then " Harry turned towards the girl to his left . " I guess this is where we'll part ways . But don't worry . We shall be in shared dream , together with Hermione in three nights time . Bye then – and enjoy . " She gave a brief smile, then ran of towards a few scattered knots of people gathered around the fireside . And , running from the Fire-place towards the girl was a taller person who Harry could not make the shapes of . As Harry turned away from the scene and began making his way back to the Weasely's , he wondered who that person was. One of her "parent's " perhaps ?

A disturbing thought occurred to him as he pressed through the scattered knots of people . He always assumed that the Girl was simply directly transported from her time to his . No . That was absurd . She herself hinted of being older , carried herself as being far older than she looked. The chain of thoughts was like a blindfold rendering him less aware of his surroundings .

He thought of three possibilities . Firstly , the Girl's body was not the one she was born with , and was sent back in time . Then , that person whom she met just now could be a fellow time-traveler . She never ever proclaimed outright that she was all alone . Secondly , that person was someone who was somehow made to believe that the girl was his or her daughter , but was a native of this time. The third , and most disturbing possibility though , that Harry recoiled from ,was that she had taken some person's body , and commandeered it for her own . It seemed farfetched – if not of being reminded of Riddle's Diary just that very night . He really wanted to know the answer to that , but he did not know how to really ask .

He rather than the first possibility was true . Perhaps he was just being overly suspicious of her , fishing for some reason to doubt his intentions . Perhaps that lecture he was given that very night was affecting his judgments , and his doubts were a manifestation of sub-conscious resentment. That was something else to discuss with Hermione about , he reflected .

" Harry ! " A familiar cry was heard from the distance . " Harry ! Hey mate? Are you alright ?" That cry once more sounded , and suddenly , his chain of thoughts terminated , opening his senses back to the entire world . It was Ron calling him from afar.

" Yes ! Are the others back yet ? " Harry responded. There was dirt smeared over Ron's face , and a scab on his knees .

" What happen to you ? " Harry asked as he made his way over to Ron .

" Tripped over a log . " Ron grumbled . " By the way , I met Draco over in the woods over there . " he grimaced . " Where were you by the way ? Was it true that you got seperated because Hermione went to help Loony Lovegood ? "

" Loony Lovegood ? " Harry asked curiously . _She is very much like you Harry. _If even Ron was calling poor Luna that , he shuddered to think what other horrors she faced at Hogwarts. It reminded him too painfully of the nicknames Dursely and his gang gave him back before Hogwarts.

" Yeah mate .That's what everyone calls Luna . She lives near the Burrow you know . Ginny and her use to play with each other all the time when they were younger . At least until her mother died . " Ron continued ,oblivious to Harry's slightly disturbed expression .

" Of course , " Ron continued , " Her mother died when she was eight or nine or so , and after that , she was not really right in her head . By the time she got to Hogwarts, she was as Barmy as the Mad Muggle . " Ron commented . Harry nodded at that . Strangely , it was quite hard for him to emotionally get to grips with this . While he had lost his parents when he was a mere baby , to lose one of them , or both when you were a child , and knew them well . He could not imagine how much more painful it was.

" You alright mate? " Ron asked , at last dimly noticing Harry's perturbed expression . " Yeah . " Harry responded , as both of them returned back to the tent .

Somewhere , a mile away , the time-traveller gave a small , truly soul-felt smile as she went to bed . It went of without a hitch . All objectives were completed for the night . There was the problem , of course , to the boy's reaction if he found out the truth . But Hermione would be able to explain it to him , in all probability. Satisfied , she shut her core mind down to that state called sleep .


	8. Chapter 7: Revelation's Millstone

Chapter 7: Revelation's Millstone

In the morning , the scene of chaos had faded as the entire crew came to take an Early Portkey back to St Ottery Catchpole. In the morning , outside the burrow , there was a touching reunion . In that morning , Harry came face to face for the first time with slander , in the form of the reporter's Rita Skeeter's article. If only she knew ,he wrly thought . After Mr Weasely departed to the ministry to deal with the fall out of the riot , something occurred to Harry.

He still had to write to Sirius . And , he just then remembered that technically , he was allowed now to tell anyone about the unusual experiences of the past three nights . He knew that Hermione was aware , but what about Ron Weasely ? He regretted not asking last night . Should he tell all to Ron ? He decided , until he could discuss this with Hermione , that he'd just tell his closest male friend about the first dream on that Saturday Night .

" Is it alright if I throw my stuff into your room , Ron ? " That would be a perfect excuse for a brief discussion . Hermione gave a subtle warning look at him . He nodded briefly in acknowledgment of this . Predictably , Ron completely missed that silent conversation . It was too subtle , too brief , and in any case , his back was turned towards them anyway .

He told the dream to Ronald Weasely in Great detail . In fact , in even more detail than he had told Hermione at the World cup . He recounted perceiving things through a snake's eyes , about Wormtail and Voldermort's deliberations ( to put it in a gentler way ) , about the Muggle who came to investigate , and was promptly killed . He even remembered the thoughts of the Muggle himself , as seen through Voldermort. And then, he told both of them about how his scar hurt.

""**But - he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean - last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?"**

" He was most definitely not on Privet Drive , if that was what you mean . " Harry remarked dryly.

" But then … it has to be a dream right ? It's probably just a nightmare." Ron attempted to reassure Harry.

"Perhaps , Harry , you should talk to Sirius about this – and maybe Dumbledore too . " Hermione suggested.

" Yeah … but won't Dumbledore think that I'm going nuts or something ? " Harry replied .

" Well , at least you could confide this to Sirius . After all his your God Father , and I think he should know . "

" Yeah , I agree with Hermione here . It's a great idea I'll bet that Sirius will know what to do ." Ron agreed . Now that was quite a rare sight , Harry observed .

" I guess I'll need help in penning this down to Sirius then . " Harry sighed .

" Alright then ." Ron looked at the cloudless , robin blue sky .

"**Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry" said Ron. "Come on - three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play…**

**You can try out the Wronski Feint… "**

"**Ron," said Hermione, in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, "Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now… He's worried, and he's tired… We all need to go to bed…"**

" Yeah . Sure . I'll grab my fireblot after sending this letter . " Harry disagreed , shooting an apologetic look at Hermione .

" Alright then – see you downstairs , mate . " Ronald left the room .

Harry breath out . " At last , Hermione . Actually , I need to speak to you again later . Something disturbing occurred to me when I left that girl last night . "

" Alright then . " Hermione replied , with a slight hint of indignation of being overruled .

" Thanks Mione . " Harry smiled . " Now , let's see about the letter shall we ? I think I'll need your help on this one . "

" Alright then . I think you should mention about your dream , and the fact that your scar hurt , at the very least. " Hermione advised.

" What about the Second Dream Hermione ? And everything that has happened ?"

" Ask him for a face to face meeting . Tell him there's more . About what happened to the World Cup – other than that girl also , of course . "

Harry breathed . " I was wondering how to approach that matter. Thanks , Hermione , you are a life saver . "

He began rummaging around for parchment , and then a quill .

" No , Harry, take this . It's an auto dictation quill . " Hermione handled him a steel black looking quill .

" Thanks . " He immediately put to the quill to the paper , and began to write .

" Erm , Harry , you know that the quill will respond automatically to your words you know ? " Hermione pointed out .

" Oh . Alright . Sorry about that . " He blushed a little from embarrassment .

The letter was quick and swift .

" Dear Padfoot . Three Days ago , I experienced an extremely disturbing and vivid dream concerning Voldermort . After waking up , my scar hurt rather badly . There's more though , but I can't say it over Owl Mail . It might be intercepted. Can we meet face to - " Harry stopped suddenly .

" Hermione , do you think it'll be risky for Sirius to return to Britain ? I personally think so . " Harry was troubled .

" It'll be riskier , yes , Harry . Ultimately , it's your choice though . "

Harry considered it . No , it was not wise at all . He could , in no good conscience ,force Sirius to return to Britain . It was just too risky for him . After all , he was a wanted man back at home . No , safer for him to remain overseas .

Finally , he came to a decision .

" Hermione , how do I remove the last five words ? " Harry asked .

The next three days after that incident went by in a breeze , and a blur . It was a really happy three days , but somehow , Harry felt as if he was in the eye of a storm . He did manage to pull aside Hermione to share his concerns a and suspicions about the time-traveler after dinner two nights after the World cup .

After relating with Hermione of what he saw when he parted time-traveler , Hermione fell silent .

Above them , a beautiful starry sky , spread out like necklaces bestowed their faint glowing light on them as they walked out away from the Burrow in the night .

" What's wrong ? " Harry asked .

" I'm trying to think of how to phrase this to you . The time-traveler did explain to me about this , but it's quite profound actually . Ok , let's see how to simplify this . " She sigh , her jaws set.

" Very well , simply put , she took a body native to this world , and shunted the soul inhabiting that body to a very , very nearby time-line with almost no differences . The soul promptly reintegrated with it's alternate self in that neighboring time-line. From what I gathered , she used the … remnants … yes that'll be an easier way to use it , of her entrance into our time-line to send the soul over to the neighboring time-line. ." She worriedly looked at Harry .

" Did you manage to follow me ? " She apologetically asked .

Harry considered it . " Erm …. so the soul isn't destroyed outright ? It .. get's sent to another … similar time-line ? Is that what you are saying ? " He asked , to the best of his understanding .

Hermione nodded . " More or less . It's a little more complicated then that , but never mind about that . " She shuddered.

Hermione – shuddering at knowledge? Just how profound and difficult was that knowledge to comprehend , anyway?

They slowly walked within the star lit night , enjoying the cool evening air for a few more minutes, as Harry's thoughts began running again .

He could now see a highly plausible reason behind why the girl did not want her presence known . It would be very painful for her "parents" so to speak , for the lack of a better word to know that their daughter was no longer present in their time-line . He then realized the purpose for that girl's actions that night . He admired how well planned it was . By allowing Harry to follow her until she was within sight of her parent's , it allowed her to contact Harry later on without suspicion . It was truly a very cunning plan . It made Harry wonder how much of the events that occurred to them during the riot was planted by her .

They slowly walked within the star lit night , enjoying the cool evening air for a few more minutes.

" How is Luna ? " Harry asked , curiously .

" Her ankle was more or less healed , if you were asking me about her physical well being . " Hermione answered .

" But , as a person ?" He pressed on the answer .

" Queer , strange , weird , illogical . But somehow , she grows on me for some reason . She's really really perceptive you know . " But it was clear she was unwilling to say more , beyond that . Nonetheless , that more or less confirmed what that other girl had said .

Come to think of it though , he never ever asked for the name of the girl .

" I beg your pardon ? " Hermione asked .Did he just said his thoughts out loud?

" Well , I was thinking . If that time-traveler took a body from this time-line, and that she was living among a Wizarding family , then it stands to reason that she probably attends Hogwarts if she's living here right now , that is . "

" Yes , and ? "

" Do you know who she is , Hermione ? I never ever asked her by what name we were supposed to call her by . " Harry remarked .

Hermione bit her lower lip . " I wonder why I never ever asked that too. She's familiar . No wait . I think she is even in Gryffindor , if my memory is correct . But , I wonder who exactly she is . I can't pin a name down to her . " She confessed.

" Perhaps we should ask her that tommorow night ? " Harry suggested .

" There's no harm in doing so . " She agreed as the pair approached the Burrow once more .

As they walked back to the Burrow , they saw Ron playing Chess with Ginny . It was a slaughter . No , it was a blood bath . Ironically , it describe what happened next .

Ron's ears were burning a faint crimson red . That was not a good sign at all . What was going on anyway ?

" Where were you ? " His voice was terse , taking both Harry and Hermione aback .

" We went outside for awhile . Harry needed some help in his astronomy homework . " Hermione made her excuse , all the while frowning a little .

" Yeah . " Ron muttured under his breath . " Yeah right . " There was a sullen look to his face for the rest of the night , lending an air of tension to it. Harry wondered what exactly made Ron so riled up . There was a slightly disturbed look on Hermione's face though .

Ron was seemingly back to normal the very next day , which again , flew past in a pleasant haze. With a sudden jerk as night fall approached , Harry realized it was the night . The very night of his meeting with the time-traveler , And the very first time that both Hermione and he was to meet the time-traveler simultaneously . Idly , Harry wondered how the time-traveler was to achieve this. After seeing Hermione shudder the last night though , he decided he was better off not knowing . Clearly , though , the girl had told Hermione way more than he did . Or perhaps , he wryly thought to himself , Hermione had managed to extract more out of the time-traveler , with her natural penchant for asking questions. But , come to think of it , last night did prove that one of the other reasons was because Hermione had a better ability to comprehend certain things . It stood to figure though . Hermione , after all , was smarter than him .

As the time for bed approached , Harry went about , his mind wrapped in a mixture of anticipation , yet also a strange trepidation that he could not easily account for . He did not know how right he was to be in trepidation .

When bed time arrived , Harry drifted off , surprisingly easily to sleep . His last awake thought wondered whether the time-traveler has any hands in that.

And from one thought to another , his perspective changed . He was not in that breathtakingly beautiful world that the time-traveler claimed was based on her Home-world. No . He was in a cozily feeling , well furnished room , clad in shades of Gold and Royal Burgundy . There was a fire place burning heartily in the corner . And the windows were sheets of a flawless glass like material covering one entire side of the room . And at the far end , was a door plated in silver . But , it was the sight of the view outside the room that was unusual . Instead of golden gleaming skies , it appeared to be gently , and softly drizzling outside . It was those days where it was an especial comfort to remain in doors . Interestingly , in some ways , the room resembled the Gryffindor common room . Albeit an empty one , for now .

The change in venues , however was a little worrying . Was there a reason behind it ? Aburptly , he felt as if someone was inviting him to take a sit , on one of most appealing and comfortable chairs he had ever seen in his life . He spotted a tall arm chair , with an indentation as if someone, from his neck to his tailbone had laid down on plasticine . He sat on the plushy red hued armchair, and found that it perfectly conformed to his back , and neck .

The next moment , Hermione appeared in the room too .

" I'm sorry Harry . Ginny and I talked for awhile . " She apologized hurriedly . She took a quick look around the room , her mouth opening in stunned surprise and pleasure .

" If only there were bookshelves lining the wall , then this room would be complete !" She exclaimed . As if it responded to her request , the empty wall at the back suddenly had a row of bookcases filled with tomes spreading across it. Hermione stared in awe.

" You've never been here before ?" Harry asked in surprise .

" No , Harry. " But she was too busy looking over at the bookshelf .

That perturbed Harry just a little more.

But he had little time to consider it , for a mere few moments later , the door to the room swung open , revealing the same white glowing portal that Harry saw in his second dream .

" Good Evening everyone . " The person coming through greeted them . Behind her , the door shut .

Dark Brown hair . A prominent chinned and proud face . Steel Grey eyes . It was the one who had called for this meeting . The time-traveler.

" Take a seat , please Hermione . " She gently admonished . Hermione sighed , then proceeded to sit down on one of the arm chairs .

" The exit , Ladies , and gentleman , is through the door over there . " She informed , as she made her way to another one of the arm chairs . Harry realized they were seating in a triangular position , equidistant from one another .

" You may have noticed , that this meeting is being held in a different backdrop right now . For what I will say to you , will be a mockery if it was at the place where you first met me . "

That sounded ominous .

" But first - " She clapped her hands together , and placed it under her chin . " I believe you have some questions for me . Let's clear it before we truly begin , shall we ?"

Questions ? Yes , right . He intended to ask this all along .

" Erm , what should we actually call you by ? I've realized , so far ,we never called you by any name ?" Harry asked .

She smiled at that . " Languages evolve , Mr Potter . My real name would be exceedingly hard for you to pronounce . Besides , verbal language is not sufficient to capture it , in full . But , as to the name I would like to ask you to refer it by... I would reveal it to you in the Hogwart's express .Yes , Mr Potter and Ms Granger . Your suspicions are fully correct . There are limitations with communicating by dreams too . "

" You mean that you were not joking when you offered to teach me ?" Hermione asked , wide eyed .

" I am perfectly serious Ms Granger . Indeed , I owe Mr Potter some lessons , don't I ? " The girl's eyes twinkled .

" Erm … yeah . " That was all Harry could manage under her eyes .

" Oops , sorry . " The twinkling diminished .

" Especially you , Harry . You'll need all the help you can get … for what lies ahead for this world , for your life , and for this year . "

Harry did not like the sound of that . Not at all.

" When smaller troubles are compared to greater problems , they sound small and trivial in comparison . You seek for answers , and tonight , it would be fulfilled . You would not like these answers though . You may not even believe it . " She looked out at the drizzling rain outside the window , and the Grey cast sky for a brief moment .

" Are you ready Mr Potter ? "

Harry resolutely nodded . He wanted answers .

" Very well . I shall begin with the big picture then . " Right in the midst of all of them , glowing blue motes emerged , forming long sinuous vertically extending branches . Like some beautiful tree whose branches were all colored blue . Yet , at the very end of most of these branches , the breathtakingly shimmering azure lines ended with the blackest black that either of them had ever seen .

" The history of humanity is like this branch . From a point in our history where we attain sentience , we achieve agriculture , build cities , invent writing , the wheel , metallurgy , discover gunpowder , sail our globe , discover the power of steam and electricity , and eventually reach such heights that our race, or at the very least , our civilization is capable of committing collective suicide . And believe me , when I tell you this . The statistics of the survival of your civilization at this stage is not favorable at all , as it is right now . Far from favorable . "

Harry gaped at that . She was not asking what he feared it would be , would it ?

The girl solemnly nodded . " I've already told you . Hinted , more properly that people like you play a vital role in humanity's fate . People like you can truly substantially alter the change of history . Have you heard of the butterfly effect Harry? "

Harry shook his head.

" The butterfly effect proposes that a butterfly flapping it's wings in England , could potentially ,some years later trigger of a cyclone in the Pacific. More accurately , it predicts that the actions of each human can have massive effects on history down the road .If one of Hitler's ancestors for example , was run down by a random carriage driver who decided to get drunk a few centuries before he was born , Hitler may well have not existed . But would have World War II still have proceeded , if there were no other changes to the time-lines ? Possibly , even likely , since the underlying causes still remain , even without Hitler . But it wouldn't take the shape that we recognize it today , most certainly . It's details will be utterly different , potentially leading to a totally different out come to World War II . The great figures of history are called great because they are in a position of strongly nudging the time-line in a certain significant direction within their life-times . The consequences of the decisions of most only play out fully well beyond their time-line . But , the decisions of some may affect millions , even billions within their time-line . We call those whose decision has a significant impact on a large number of people around them within their lifetime ,,,, nodes . "

"I don't see how I could have such an impact though . " Harry confessed. " After all , I'm really no one special . I don't have any exceptional abilities – except maybe Qudditch . "

" Ah , but trouble finds you , though , does it not ? There are actually two classes of nodes . Those who can be a node for a period of time , and those who are nodes for a period of time after some events activate it- and activation event , roughly translated in your language . The former , are called potential nodes , the latter active nodes . " The girl paused for awhile to let Harry process this. So busy was Harry's mind in processing this that he did not notice that the other two in the room were engaged in some silent communion he was not privy to.

At the same time , just at the moment Harry fully comprehended the information , the girl continued before Harry could ask any more questions.

"You and Hermione are now active nodes. And quite a few others in Hogwarts are on the verge of doing so . And a few in other parts of the world too , but that's a story for later. . The problem for both of you , and many of those in Hogwarts , is that you would become nodes for life when activated . "

" Hang on a moment !" Harry interrupted . " Nodes for life ? Does it mean that all this trouble over the past few years will just keep finding me for life , non stop ?"

" No , Harry . Of course not . Even active Nodes do have periods of a more quiet life . But I can assure you that always remaining in a quiet life non stop is impossible for one such as you . Even if Voldermort was defeated once and for all , you can't cop out and hope for a Happy Ever After ending . Too , too many of your alternates paid the price for hoping , and clinging on to the belief that their happy ever after will last forever , until it was too obvious. "

" The call of destiny ? "

" Calls , Harry . Getting caught up , and playing a crucial role in the events that can shape humanity's future significantly . It's a crude definition , but the best I can do with the limitations of your language .Even the call of destiny is a very , very rough term for what I am describing , to begin with . The term , we use for this , is approximately Prephias "

" I don't understand still . "

" Do you know you are currently in a Prephias right now ? "

" A Periphas ? So you mean that the events of the last three years - "

The girl held up three fingers

" The Philosopher stone , " The girl dropped one finger.

" The Chamber of Secrets . " The girl dropped the second finger .

" And Sirius . " The girl dropped the third finger .

" Wouldn't you not say that you were caught in the midst of events in past three years ? The past three years have shown you what is meant to be in a Periphas . As a node , you don't look for trouble . Trouble finds you . In a Periphas , this is even more true . " Harry couldn't argue against that . If the biography of his life was to be fit on a mere dozen words ,he could not conceive anything more appropriate than the epitaph " He doesn't look for trouble , Trouble Finds him."

" And then , your friends have accompanied you through this Periphas . Indeed , they have been drawn into your Periphas , both of them through choice . And before you think of pushing them away - "

" I wouldn't !" Harry exclaimed .

The girl simply returned Harry a sorrowful look . " How little you know yourself Harry .Nevertheless , you must respect their choice , whether to follow you through the rest of this Periphas , or to leave . But know this . Being in the Periphas with you places in danger , though I daresay that Hermione herself , by the sheer virtue of being a node is in significant danger herself . "

Harry blinked . " Hermione's a node ? " He said , a little to hastily.

The girl simply looked indignant . " Can you read between the lines Harry? You should really learn to do so ."

" Never mind that for now , Harry. Another lesson , for another time . "

" Wait a moment – I never agreed to - "

" You don't think it's essential to read between the lines ?" She chuckled a little .

" Why do you even ask questions when you already know the answer?"  
" So that I don't have a mount a full scale invasion of your thoughts to get it , perhaps ? "She replied .

There was silence for a moment .

" What's the difference ? "

" Do you really want to know , Mr Potter ? Now's not the time , but I promise , I'll teach you that ." She answered .

He knew that he was going to dig himself up even deeper . " Fine . Teach what you will . I don't even know why I'm objecting in the first place . "

" Very well Mr Potter . And trust me , you'll need it . For this Periphas is not yet over – until Voldermort is dead . "

" Voldermort ? Dead ? But he's already dead , technically isn't he ? " Harry asked .

" Killed once , and for all , Harry , with no possibility of resurrection . "

" Oh . " That was all Harry could manage. " But how do we kill him once and for all , and get out of this Periphas , anyway ? "

" He cannot be killed , as he is right now , spirit , without flesh . No more than you can destroy a ghost . For him to be killed first , he must gain flesh first . For him to be killed forever , everything that anchors him to this plane of existence must be destroyed . " She grimly pronounced .

" Wait a moment . Does it mean that he has to be resurrected again to be killed forever? " Harry asked , in horror.

" Yes , Harry . "

He grimanced . " Please don't tell me that I have some part to play in killing him once and for all . "

She sighed with the most heaviest , and most regretful sigh he had ever heard from her . " Unfortunately , he believe that you will be instrumental for his downfall . For this reason , your parent's went into hiding . For this reason , on the Halloween night , fourteen years ago , he came to Gordic's Hollow . He came to kill you . And- " She raised a hand demanding for silence , " you think you are somehow to blame for your parent's death , don't you ? No , Harry , no . Voldermort made his choice among several possibilities . "

" How ? " His throat suddenly became very dry . Somehow , knowing that Voldermort chose him , among several other potential targets , absolved , in his mind , much of the guilt that he initially felt .

" Curiosity , Harry , is a strong asset of yours , but a doubled edged sword at the same time . " She sagely remarked .

" I suppose , then , it is time to tell you about the prophecy . The Prophecy that Dumbledore fears to tell you right now . " Her brown eyes now shone a strange hybrid of both compassion , and determination at once .

A blue orb materialized between both of them . He recognized it . It was the very same blue orb that he saw three nights ago , during the riots .

" Fourteen years ago , Albus Dumbledore interviewed a particularly young aspiring … seer for the job of a Divination Professor, a descendant of a seer considered great in your time . Of course , Clairvoyants like me consider seers of your time rather … primitive in their comprehension of time . "

" You are a seer ? Why didn't you say that before ?" Harry asked .

" Because , it never came up before . But yes . Everyone tasked in intervening time-lines are both potential-nodes , and trained Clairvoyants . Yes , I suppose you could call us seers of sorts , but Clairvoyance is not exactly the Sight . I'll explain the difference some other time , Harry " She patiently answered . Harry wondered though , how much of that patience was a mere polite mask.

" But – the prophecy proper . ' She snapped her fingers , and suddenly , they were in the interior of some dimly litted room , in some cheap inn somewhere . Harry recognized Dumbledore – and the other women in the room . She seemed strangely familiar . There were this over large glasses , and exaggerated hair . She looked even more barmy than Luna , if that was possible .

Dumbledore looked just as old as ever . He was still the same wizen old man .

" I apologize , Ms Trelawney , but unfortunately , I do not thing you may be suited for this post ." He pleasantly and gently concluded , then he began to get up , and turned away , preparing to leave .

Just then , the very same phenomena that Harry had witnessed last year with an Older Trelawney occurred again . Her eyes again went blank and unfocused , rolling and her mouth sagging . Yet again , it was as if a Perfectalus Totallus was performed on her , while she was on the chair .

And then , with the same rasping voice , she pronounced the words that would struck Harry with the greatest horror , and dread. The words that so shaped his life.

"**The one with the power to vanquish the - Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"**

And as the voice fell silent , it's silence was like doom itself conquering his heart . The environment once more dissolved , back into the room they had previously left . Still , there was dead silence . Something was going to happen . Something shocking and downright horrifying was to be unleashed upon him . Like was Pandora foolishly opening Pandora's box .

" What does it mean . " He finally gathered up courage to ask . He braced himself for the answer . He thought he could see it . The dots were connecting itself together .

" Yes , Harry . The one who has the power to defeat Voldermort was to be born 14 years ago , as July dies to August . He was to be born to parent's who had fought Voldermort thrice , and lived to tell the tale . There were two candidates . One was … you " And that last word resembled the swirl of the guillotine as it fell onto the neck of a condemned.

Harry's mouth had to have been drier than the most desolate of Earth's desert .

" Me ….. So that means that I am the person who will have to defeat Voldermort once and for all? " He asked , disbelievingly . " Who was the other one ?" Tension was laced on his voice .

" Neville . "

Harry and Hermione gaped at once .

" What ? " She quickly asked out loud . With a jerk , Harry abruptly realized that Hermione had remained silent all throughout .

_There are ways of talking without speaking, Harry ._ Once more , that impossibly calm voice reminded Harry .

" Neville actually is very powerful too . So are you Harry . But one thing both of you lack is self-confidence , though I daresay that Neville has way less self-confidence than you . But we do not have time for an extended discussion on the operations of magics . "

Her eyes went distant again for a second , before she resumed , her eyes back to normal .

" 14 years ago , Dumbledore heard the prophecy . And ever since then , his strategy against Voldermort has revolved around this prophecy alone . Alas . Albus does not fully understand what he is precisely playing with here . Prophecy only describe sufficiently likely outcomes , not definite outcomes . There are virtually no definite outcomes in the Universe , Mr Potter . Understand this , if you ever have to deal with prophecy . Prophecy reflects a possible outcome , sometimes likely , sometimes less . And sometimes , if Prophecy is not followed , then what is prophesied is unlikely to pass. "

" So you are saying that I'm not the only who can defeat Voldermort ? " Harry asked , seeing a ray of hope .

" As it is now , you are one of the most likely to defeat Voldermort , given that the prophecy has been followed . In fact , the Periphas for you begun the very day the Prophecy began to come to pass . It came to pass the very day that you were marked with that scar . " Politely though , she kept her eyes level with Harry .

" The Scar on my forehead ? " Harry asked . " Marked as his equal.... " he mused . " Does that mean – but then , how did he intercepted the prophecy ? "

" A spy of his succeeded in divulging a part of the Prophecy to him . Voldermort only knew that the one who could kill him ( though many could ) was to be born in the end of July . There were only two candidates . Neville , and you . And , he chose to kill you first , and by that very attempted , marked you as a Periphas . " The girl concluded .

It was getting difficult to speak . Despair was almost like some physical yoke around his voice box . With utmost effort , he ultimately asked . " So , it has to be me that has to defeat him , isn't it ?"

" Yes … and no . Yes – if you do not , you risk the decimation of Magical Britan , and the potential breaking of the stature of Secrecy . Trust me , you DO NOT wish to know what would happen if the Stature of Secrecy is broken . Let's just put it simply . If , as a result of Voldermort , the Stature of Secrecy is shattered , the rest of humanity will have no qualms declaring genocide against you . After all , Voldermort proposes Genocides against the Muggles no ? "

" But – but if I am the only one who could defeat Voldermort , does it mean that he will win ? "

" He will lose , Harry . He may even be defeated before the Stature of Secrecy breaks ,Harry . But know this . Tens of Thousands , if not Hundereds of Thousands will die if you chose to stand aside . Millions even . Nevertheless , he wants to kill you , because he thinks that you are the only one who stands a chance against him . " Her voice was most grim . Almost as if she herself was living through the apocalypse that she was predicting .

There was mere silence for a long time . The rain falling outside slowly recceded into a drizzle . And from a Drizzle , only cloudy skies remained . And then , a faint ray of sunlight , the light of dawn broke through the lowest clouds of all . Could he defeat Voldermort ? How was he supposed to ? The truth was revealed , and it was a bitter truth indeed . Voldermort was after his life, that much was clear after the end of the First Year , when he met Voldermort's shade in front of the Mirror of Eresid. There was no choice . He had to stand and fight . He had to stand and fight , for the alternative was to be killed without a fight .

" How long more ? " He finally asked , as the rays began to pierce into the room .

" He is roughly a year away from resurrection . Perhaps two . I can delay it not much longer , nor is it wise to do so . "

Harry's heart sank .

" Hermione ? " He heard that voice that pronounced his fate in the distance . " He needs you now . "

He suddenly felt the warm presence of his best friend hugging him , whispering , gently , so soothingly . He was numb. Numb to the comfort that was being channeled to him .Promises . Promises . Promises to what could very well be her death . He had to push her away . For if she remained with him , then she would be in mortal danger . He had to push them-

" Oh , Harry ? "

" If it was Hermione instead who had to bear your burden , would you follow her through ? "

What kind of question was that anyway ? Of course he would , he could no more abandon his friends if they were in need .

" There you have your answer . If you are willing to follow your friends , should you not allow them to follow you if they will ? "

That statement was like cold water splashed over his face , making him so painfully aware of the irrationality of his thoughts . He realized then and there that it was most arrogantly presumptuous of him to decide for his friends .

" Harry . " Hermione softly whispered into his ear . Oddly enough , for one who never had been so closely and intimately touched by anyone , that sensation did not bring any discomfort . " Harry . Yes . "

That was all she needed to say . That was all that would matter . One word was a lifelong commitment , a contract extending till their own end of time . Gently , the golden light of a sunrise bathed them in a light of hope .

A/N : End of Arc Zero


	9. Chapter 8 : Did you just insult Cthulu ?

A/N Better start putting up the disclaimers . This basically takes JK Rowling's world , and throws it into a particular alternative Secnario . No money to my knowledge is being made from this .

Arc 1 : The Way Illuminated

Chapter 8 : Did you just Insult Cthulu ?

Harry Potter , a skiny little black haired boy with a most distinctive pair of emerald eyes was one troubled boy . He was a boy tasked on a mission that most would deem impossible . Perhaps , outright Suicidal . He had a clock counting down to his death , or so he thought . But , as if that was not enough , he had the most uneviable prospect of breaking out the news to one of his best friends . In fact , he wondered how he was supposed to tell a certain Ginger Haired Red Hed seating besides him . For one , there was the element of fear . Would Ron abandon him if he knew about the fate that was prophesized for him ? This had troubled him for the past five days , though he did his best in hiding it . Suprisingly , he succeeded in doing that . In fact , often , the weight of the prophecy strangely dimmed over the course of the past five days . It was almost as if he was not being allowed to Brood on it , for some reason .

Until now . Perhaps it was the monotony of the train-ride that finally gave him time to brood at last . And that he did . Indeed , the cabin fell silent after Malfoy had left the cabin , gloating thoroughly and riling Ron up over his robes , and insulting his father . And now , Ron remained sullemly silent , killing of any potential for further conversation . The silence , abbeted by the most gloomy weather outside did wonders for his positiveness , he sullenly thought . And , Hermione . His other best friend , one third of the Golden Trio had her face buried into a book . He wondered what he was , but decided not to enquire . It was an extremely bad idea to question Hermione while she was this engaged in reading . Most foolish indeed . He was spared having to make additional efforts to stop brooding by a sudden sliding sound from the door.

The sudden repoening of the train door shattered Harry's indulegence in brooding . Standing in the doorway was a girl ,perhaps two or three years younger than them . She took a look around the cabin , blushed for a moment , her mouth forming a big O . Harry sighed . He was more or less resigned to the fact that many of those who met him for the first time freaked out . It was inevitable , given his most unwanted fame.

She quickly shut it and recovered . And with a confident voice , she spoke " I'm sorry , I seem to have lost my way on my way back from the Loo . Would you mind if I rested a little here in this cabin before heading back ? "

Ron broke of from his sullen melachony , and scrowled at the newcomer as if she was an unwelcome intruder . Scrath that . He clearly regarded her as an unwanted intruder .

" Who are you anyway ? " He demaned in a bellicose tone . Hermione's face shot up from the book she was reading , a most distressed , tense and disturb expression on her face .

The girl was unfazed . "I'm Romilda . " She introduced herself without skipping a beat . " Romilda Vane . And you must " she looked at Harry's face " be Harry Potter , and besides you is Hermione Granger if I'm not wrong . "

She looked at the last component of the compartment . " May I know who you are ? " She mildly asked . a hint of curiosity to her voice

Ron's ears turned red , a clear sign of his anger . " Ronald Weasely . And , anyway , you are not welcome here . " He snapped . " I suppose you are only here because of Harry , aren't you ?! " He continued . "Then , leave this cabin ! No fangirls are allowed in here ! " His ears now seemd to be burning blood red.

Hermione paled in shock. Why ? Harry wondered. He took a closer look at the girl in the hallway . She seemed oddly familiar . She had long , curly dark hair and eyes , and a very prominent jaw . Some would even call her face arrogant . He quickly connected the dots . It could'nt be , could it ? But it could be . He dimly recalled a very similar girl telling him to expect her on the Hogwart's Express . But the only time he saw the face of that girl was during the Qudditch World Cup , where the poor lighting and the tension of the circumstances meant that he did not had much time to observe her face .

" I see I am not welcome here . " She coldly responded in returned to that , before walking away in an obvious huff .

No . Her mannerism was subtly different from the time-traveller , though she looked like the time-traveller . But then again ...

" Ron , you insenstive Prat ! " Hermione exclaimed , finally getting over her shock .

That started another row again . All the while though , Harry debated within his mind . It might very well have been her . After all , she was the only young girl that turned up in their cabin all afternoon . Yes , It probably was her , but some confirmation would have been nice.

_You are right Harry . You've just seen the body and the identity I've taken in this time-line . To the inhabitants of this time-line , I am known as one Romilda Vane . Of course , the original has been shunted to a nearby time-line ._ Of course . Her voice . Why did'nt Harry recognized it ?

He looked at the squabbling Pair sharing the carriage at him , or in particular , Ron Weasely in horror . No wonder Hermione paled . He recalled how the time-traveler had conjured a ball of light wandlessly with absolute ease. And then , conjured that incredible shield wandlessly to boot . Not to mention that that shield took several stunners with seeming ease . He wondered just how powerful was that girl .

That being said , Ron's behavior was partially understandable . In the best of times , Ron tended to be rather indiscreet with his mouth . In light of the state of his emotions , Ron's hostility was hardly surprising . That being said , his behavior was still quite rude . Obviously , rudeness to a time-traveler of unknown , but great power was a most dangerous gamble .

_What ever happens to Ron is what ever he brings upon himself . _That ambiguity raise hackles up Harry's spine .

_But enough about your friend . There are some very important things... and warnings that we have to discuss . I am waiting for you . Meet me at the Luggage Compartment at the very back . _

Obviously , he would . There were many things that he still wanted to ask her .

He stood up . " I'm going to the toilet . " To his bemusement , his two friends barely acknowledged that , so warped up were they in their argument . Shaking his head , he left the compartment and headed towards the back of the train , towards the baggage compartments.

The baggage compartment , as expected was totally empty of people. Almost no one went back there , and he personally suspected that the time-traveler had set up wards to repel uninvited guests. Within a few minutes , he made it into the cluttered space called the luggage compartment . Here and there were a multitude of containers of all shapes and sizes, creating narrow alcoves . It was like being in an extremely narrow and elongated warehouse . He never had been here before . He had no cause to .

" Hello Harry . " At the very far end of the dimly lilted carriage stood the similar figure of the time-traveler. He briefly wondered why she went to the pains of making herself less recognizable .

" You shouldn't have walked into the cabin , you know . " Harry quietly said . " Ron was in a rather bad mood . "

" And you think he would be more predisposed to listen if this happened earlier , don't you Harry ? By the way , Harry , have you wondered why Ginny never seats with all of you ?"

Harry did wonder about that . After all , he had more or less figured out that Hermione and Ginny were rather close to each other , so it was rather surprising she never joined them on the Hogwart's express . He presumed she had other friends .

" Yes , that's true . But every year , without fail , Ron bars her from your carriage . " Harry blinked . He knew Ron could often be very insensitive , and had a tendency to stick a foot into his mouth . Yet , was Ron even that impolite to his sister ? It was plausible , but he was not inclined to believe it .

She continued on right at the very moment Harry finished that thought . " Irregardless , there is no use talking about Ron. This is about more … unpleasant things . "

Again , that sounded quite ominious . Harry sighed . " So , it appears that I'll be put in mortal peril again at the end of this year , right ? " He was more or less resigned to it , especially in light of what she told him . " You said that we have at most a year before Voldermort resurrects . How is he going to achieve this ? You still didn't tell me what was going on in that dream anyway . "

" Before you know how to do something , you must know what you are doing . " She cryptically answered . " Voldermort at last has the means of obtaining resurrection . 14 years ago , a group of Death Eaters after Voldermort's death was tasked with resurrecting him , in the event of his death . Fortunately for Magical Britian , all of the Death Eaters were successfully intercepted , captured and imprisoned in Azkaban . To this day , no one within the ministry was aware how close the war was to reigniting once more . Riddle is no fool . He knew that there was a possibility that he would die , and hence took steps to prevent this . He made …. Horcruxes . Seven of them . Seven Fragments of his soul . And this anchored him onto this plane of existence . As long as these Horcruxes are still present , Voldermrot cannot be banished from this plane of existence forever . " She concluded .

" In other words , you mean that Voldermort cannot be killed for good unless those … Hor – Hocruxes are destryoed right ? "

" Horcruxes . You have already met one of them in your second year . "

He shuddered once more . The Diary of Riddle was the catalyst of what could arugable have been one of the most horrifying incidents in his life . A thought then suddenly occurred to him .

" What if we were to destroy all the Horcruxes within a year ? You do know where they are , don;t you ?" Another wild hope sprung anew within his heart .

She shook her head . " Even if we were to destroy all the Horcruxes tomorrow , Voldermort would still be able to resurrect himself . The Horcruxes only prevented him from dying at the moment of his first death only . As a disembodied spirit , Voldermort is effectively as invulnerable as a ghost . I suppose you could have him petrified via the gaze of a Basilik , like Poor Nearly Headless Nick , but the problem is finding his soul . Dumbledore made an attempt to track down his soul after Voldermort's attempt to seize the philosopher stone , you know . He failed . " His heart sank once more .

" So , I still have to kill Voldermort in the end ? " He sighed . " I'm sure you already know that I think it's a suicide mission . "

" No , it's not . But you'll need to train . The truth is , Harry that you a very powerful wizard indeed . So too is Neville . But your powers , for various reasons aren't efficiently utilized . Only in rare times , such as the end of last year when you beat back a hundred dementors did you truly utilize your true power . Power is not your problem . It's will and Finesse . "

" I still don't understand at all . Besides , if I was truly as powerful as you believe , what does that make Hermione ? She's way better than me in magic and - "

" Hermione possess immense confidence and probably is the most skillful witch of your generation , Harry . She's better than you right now – but not stronger . If you can realize your true power , you can be better than her in many ways." The girl patiently explained , with inhuman calmness to her face . Internally , Harry suspected she might very well have been exasperated in reality.

" Alright then , explain to me what's the difference between strength and finesse . " He challenged.

" Do you wish to learn Harry ? I will help you to prepare against Voldermort , should you wish . Afterall , he seeks to kill you . I'm sure I don't need to spell out what that implies . "

He considered the offer . Was there anything to lose in taking up ? A silent side of him murmured , in a voice that sounded like Ron Weasely : but it'll mean more work Harry ! Besides , you should be careful of her . You don't know whether she can be trusted . Another side competed with that voice . It sounded very much like Hermione . Voldermrot wishes to kill you Harry ! You have nothing to lose to take up her offer !

He finally decided to attempt to break the deadlock . " Is there a catch ? "He asked after several seconds of deliberation .

" Besides sacrificing your time ? No . The only payment I seek is that you hear me out , and my warnings . That is all , Harry ." She shrugged .

What did he had to lose anyway ? Besides , he got the feeling that there he would have to listen , whether he wanted it or not . He nodded his response .

" Very well then , Harry . On Tuesday night , we shall meet on the Seventh floor . I will come to you . " Suddenly , a misty digital like clock appeared , like some holographic projection right in front of her . " You better get going Harry . The train will arrive within approximately thirty three minutes . Farewell. " The next instant , she just …. disappeared . There was no sound made at all . Whatever she was doing , it was most definitely not apparation . Harry stood there , slightly stunned for a few minutes , before beginning to walk back , back to his friends .

He wondered why the girl had called him all the way out to the back . In fact , there was one thing that bugged him about her especially . He noticed that she was dancing around the matter of Ron weasely . At once , he regretted not asking her whether he should have confided with Ron Weasely about everything else that had happened . Somehow , he felt a little guilty leaving Ron out of the loop . By now , it was rather obvious that he was not the only one the girl taking the identity of Romilda had approached . He knew that Hermione definitely had been approached , and that she had been in communication with the twins themselves . He idly wondered who else did she approached besides him and Hermione . He suspected that Ron was most definitely not on the list – Romilda's dismissive treatment of his best friend suggested that Ron was not held in high regard . Strangely , he felt a little insulted at that . Was Romilda questioning his choice of friends in a subtle way , he wondered.

He there and then came to a resolution . Whatever her ability to predict the future , he decided that he would hold steadfast to Ron and Hermione irregardless , even if she objected to it . In fact , he found it rather inconceivable , at the very least that his friendship with Ron would ever break . But that still left the problem of how to tell Ron about the time-traveler , he mused as he re entered the compartment .

It was soaking wet outside , as the Trio dashed into the sanctuary of the Entrance Hall. The interior however , provided scant security . For it was raining water bombs . For , inside the enterance hall hovered Peeves , Hogwart's resident Poltergeist .

One of them dropped right oN Ron , doing wonders for his already foul mood , another grazed passed Hermione and exploded right on Harry's feet , and they were far from the only casualties. Even Professor McGonagal's intervention was insufficient to stop the carnage .

Just then , Peeves made the mistake of aiming the water bomb right at a group of second years . But right before he could throw it , the Waterbomb suddenly abruptly exploded , before suddenly evaporating into steam as it fell .

Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick look with one another , while Peeves cursed above him , and prepared to draw another water bomb . This time , a dull reddish projectile sailed out from among the crowd , smashing straight into Peeves materialized hand . The sheer force of the impact threw Peeves right into a nearby Colonnade , literally impaling his hand straight into the wall . And there was Peeves , suspending over the wall by his hand , swinging like some crazy Pendulum blob, as he howled in agony and scream an inchoate series of curses. The reaction of the crowd was mixed . Some simply stared in shock , horror and quite a little awe at the scene . But a huge number simplied broke out into laughter , including Ron . Professor McGonagall however had a look that appeared to be an offspring of admiration and a slight bit of disgust .

Harry however looked at the small group of Second years . And there , hidden among the crowd was Romilda . And then , she turn and gave a slight smile to Harry , before the crowds began moving once more slowly , pushing him into the Great Hall .

He decided there and then that it was a really really bad idea to cross that girl .That made it more urgent for him to tell Ron though . He wondered just how close was Ron to being totally humiliated at the hands of Romilda back in the Carriage . Not that he cared for the idea though . Then again , he thought as the Trio shuffled towards the Gryffindor table within the Great Hall , the time-traveler probably knew that already.

He barely took a seat before being dragged into a conversation with Colin Creevy , who was excitedly telling Harry about his younger brother .

**He turned back to Hermione, Ron, and Nearly Headless Nick.**

**Brothers and sisters usually go in the same Houses, don't they?" he said. He was judging by the Weasleys, all seven of whom had been put into Gryffindor.**

"**Oh no, not necessarily," said Hermione. "Parvati Patil's twin's in Ravenclaw, and they're identical. You'd think they'd be together, wouldn't you?"**

Just then , he heard the unmistakable voice remarked : _interesting person ._

As he engaged his friends in conversation , he wondered just exactly what that was supposed to mean . Could Colin be one of the others approached by Romilda ? Just how many people was she approaching anyway .

_More than you know , Harry. _

He decided , there and then , that it was the best opportunity to ask a question .

_By the way , Romilda , You are in the second year , aren't you ? _

_Yes …. _

_Wasn't what you did to … Peeves a little extreme then ? _

_No, not really . Proltegiest are not humans or corporeal you know . That changes everything when it comes with dealing with them . _

He decided to let it slide .

Hermione then made a comment about the obvious absence of a Defense Teacher among the staff , prompting him to carefully observe the table . His eyes , then momentarily met Snape . It was then he felt something fluid running through his mind , for a very brief moment . Then , it was gone . He wondered what was that – he never felt anything like it before . No . He felt something slightly similar . That was when Romilda spoke to him in his mind . There were some similarities there , but if they were related , whatever caused that latter sensation was definitely more primitive than the former . Harry shrugged it of . It was something else to ask her later , then turned his attention onto the other members of the table.

Right beside his most hated Professor was the Headmaster of the School , Albus Dumbledore . Harry got a very strong sense – he could'nt explain it actually , but it was there – that the time-traveler had , for some reason a great distrust for Albus Dumbledore . He could not be certain , nor did he know how he came to that conclusion . He just knew it . His eyes turned away from the head master , and on his way back , he saw once more the girl known as Romilda Vane . At least , that's what she called herself . She herself admitted that her real name was alien to current man , difficult to pronounce by his time . Just how far was she from the future anyway ?

Thinking about her , a more disquieting possibility occurred to him , in his mind . Could it be that the time-traveler had planted certain thoughts into him without his knowledge ? He recalled once more how he was unable , somehow to fully express his anger , back at the Qudditch World cup . And if she could do that , what stopped her from reshaping his mind . On the other hand , if his mind was being reshaped , would he even be allowed to consider such a possibility ? The only conclusion he could take out of this was that thinking about it only gave him an impeding migraine . Maybe Hermione could make sense of it all . Or perhaps , the other girl was right and he had some serious behavioral issues to sort out .

It was at that moment he realized that the Hat had begun singing it's song . Realizing with astonishment that this was only the second time hearing the song of the Hat , he attuned his ears to it , silently lambasting his excursion into introspection . Personally , he marveled at the fact that he was there to witness the sorting song this year , and reveled in the novel experience

Alas , all too soon , it was all over . The hall exploded into the customary applause . He made the comment to his friends that the song was different from the previous years .

**Sings a different one every year," said Ron. "It's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat? I suppose it spends all year making up the next one."**

Harry laughed sofly at that comment . It appeared that the earlier sulleness of his best friend had vanished somewhere down the line .

Professor Mc Gonagall began calling out the names of the First Years to be sorted .

" Ackerly , Steward!"

The hat screamed out " Ravenclaw ! " almost instantaneously . Harry pondered just how intelligent Steward Ackerly was as the young boy made his way to a rapturously applauding Ravenclaw table. His eyes abruptly caught Cho for a brief fleeting moment , like a jolt into his consciousness . At that very moment , Harry had a fleeting desire to cross over to the Ravenclaw table , there and then . The next moment , his natural modesty reasserted itself , and that impulse vanished like some half remembered dream .

The emotion came back yet again . He sensed a wry amusement coming straight from Romildda . Immediately , his head swung back to the Gryffindor table , almost as if he was searching for the source . Five tables down was the perpetrator , wearing a stoic , but attentively curious face . She didn't even turn to acknowledge him , although Harry honestly suspected that she very well knew that Harry was staring at her .

The hat then barked : " GRYFFINDOR ! " , and the subsequent cheers erupting around him nudged him back into reality . He clapped , as hard as everyone else as Dennis Crevy formally became a Gryffindor. He immediately lodged his attention back towards the sorting , and the hat , and breathed a strange sigh of relief . Apparently , Ron failed to notice who he was looking at – he didn't dare attempt to guess what Ron's reaction would have been if it was otherwise.

Speaking of his close friend , apparently , Ron was spending the entire sorting more concern about his stomach than the world around him . Typical . He shrugged as he heard Ron made his latest reports on the state of his appetite.

"**I do hope this year's batch of Gryffindors are up to scratch," said Nearly Headless Nick, applauding as "McDonald, Natalie!" joined the Gryffindor table.**

On the very periphery of his vision , he saw Romilda giving a smirk . How well would a time-traveler do in a school of the past ? He was probably about to get an answer to that query soon

The Sorting finally ended with a certain Kevin Wirthby. **Professor Dumbledore went up to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.**

"**I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in."**

The Dishes filled up right infront of them at once .

**You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," said Nearly Headless Nick. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."**

"**Why? Wha' 'appened?" said Harry, through a sizable chunk of steak.**

**"Peeves, of course," said Nearly Headless Nick, shaking his head, which wobbled dangerously. He pulled his ruff a little higher up on his neck. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast - well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance – but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."**

" Yeah , no wonder Peeves was acting up that way in the entrance hall . Though it was quite cool , the way that spear stuck his hand on the wall . Did you see him dangling from that wall ? That was really wicked ! " Rom chuckled in amusement , before hacking further into the mountains of food.

" What happen In the kitchen ? " Hermione asked , while shooting a revulsed look at Ron which he blissfully ignored , so engaged was he to his food .

"**Oh the usual," said Nearly Headless Nick, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits—"**

" There are houselves here at Hogwarts? " She asked , frowning slightly.

"**Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."**

" How are they treated here ? " She asked out of curiosity .

" Quite well . " Sir Nicholas said , bouncing along . " Hogwarts is known as one of the best places for Houselves to work at you know . " He informed .

Hermione looked a little more relieve at that , and returned to her dinner .

As the Dinner continued , Harry decided , out of curiousity , to look to his left , down the row, at Romilda . Perhaps he could get a better sense of who that girl was . It was odd but perhaps not surprising . She looked like any other young girl with a cliente of friends , chatting and laughing like an ordinary Second Year , engaging in small conversations . It was strangely reassuring to see her so mundane . But then again , was that really her standard personality .

_Of course not Harry . _The boy in question blinked in utter surprise . She was still speaking animatedly , gesticulating around through that . How on Earth was she able to speak with him in his mind , and engage in conversations with her companions ?

_I had a lot of practice . _She then subtly , and very briefly physically shrugged , right down the row . Harry quickly revised some of his opinions . All the same , that incident still left quite a lot of questions to muse about , as he induldged in the food . After a Summer of Starvation with the Dursley's , the Opening feast tasted positively divine .

Too bad it couldn't last longer . The pastries were soon reduced to mere crumbs , while the imposing structures that made up the pudding soon disappeared into ruins. And even those ruins were soon swept away by the mouths of its' diners . Dumbledore stood up minutest later , and gave a speech rather similar to the one Harry had heard in his very first year – or so it seems at first . Harry more or less switched his mind off at that . He slumped , slightly exhausted by the day .

"**It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."**

" Wh- What ? " Harry suddenly sat up , eyes bulging wide open in utter shock. The hall exploded into a series of murmurs . His eyes scanned across the entire hall . Here and there , he recognized members of the various Qudditch teams in Hogwarts , their faces clearly showing that their sentiments were in line with his . His eyes swept back to Romilda , narrowing as he saw her rather bored looking face .

Dumbledore cleared his voice , then continued , silencing all the murmurs at once with the very first syllabus . **"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"**

It was then a boom was heard . Harry's eyes were still fixed five tables down his left , glaring at Romilda .At the very sound of the boom however , Romilda simply gravely nodded . He quickly turned to the source of the boom in response . It was the doors being swung aside , and standing at the doorway was a man silhouetted by the dark gloomy weather outside . Stepping into the lighted hall , Harry saw the mans' features clearly for the first time as the person made his way down to the table where the teacher's were at . It was unlike anything he had ever seen before . For it was the very first time he saw -

"**May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."**

There was silence for a few moment . Everyone was so utterly stunned by the bizzare appearance of the new teacher that they utterly failed to clap , as it was customary . After a short pause , Dumbledore and Hagrid put their hands together and started applauding .

Surely no one was going to join them – Harry thought .

To his surprise , he heard a faint applause to his left . And even more astoundingly , a few more applause joint the lone brave pioneer , whoever it was . And then it spreaded . A dozen applauses , then two scores , and then seconds later , the applause trailed up and down the Gryffindor table and spreaded towards the other houses . Within twenty seconds , the hall was politely applauding . Even Harry and Hermione joined in the applause , though they exchanged quick knowing glances at one another . For whose benefit was this performance done for ? Both of them simultaneously wondered as they applauded.

Right at that very moment ,**Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his traveling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it.****As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Harry saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.** The applauses died down , just as suddenly as they had started when everyone saw that sight.

**Dumbledore cleared his throat.**

"**As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."**

The twins gleefully warped their hands together . Did they wish to join the torunament , or smelled a golden opportunity to showcase their wares ?

"**Now , some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.**

"**The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."**

Excited – no elated whispers engulfed the hall . Hermione though looked in an alarming mix of worry and horror . " Death toll ? " His bushy headed best friend squeaked. She's right . This year is not going to be a quiet one . " She shook her head .

Yet another reminder that Hermione knew more than him . He felt , but then suppressed the brief tinge of jealousy. Well , obviously Hermione would have been told more. She was more intelligent than him , anyway .

_Not by much Harry . _That voice admonished him again . Was this some token attempt to make him feel better , he wondered . He seemed ton be wondering a lot , and his mind wandering a lot . He suddenly realized with a jerk that Dumbledore had already concluded his speech as a multitude of voices and chairs being pushed back echoed across the great hall . It was over – and he had missed the entire contents of Dumbledore's briefing ! He panicked for a moment , and was about to reach over to Hermione , asking her what Dumbledore had just said . Right at that point , the same feeling of knowing occurred to him again . It just appeared like that in his mind . He knew now what Dumbledore had said before his attention had wandered . He knew that there were three schools participating in the tournament , that safety measures were taken this year to prevent fatalities , and that Dumbledore had a way to prevent anyone below 17 from entering . What was more disconcerting was that he knew at once that he did not hear that from his own ears . His mind was somewhere else while these things were being said.

He looked around , and spotted Romilda getting up from her table , chatting to her friends . And just then , she briefly and surreptitiously turned around , giving him a slight wink and a mischievous smile . Then she turned back and walked away with her friends .

" Come on Harry – let's move please . " Hermione politely informed him from behind .

As they walked back to their dormitory , Ron was talking excitedly about the tournament , speculating his chances of joining . Behind the trio , Harry realized , when turning back that the twins were softly whispering to one another . He wondered what were they up to. Ron's voice prompted him to turn back .

"**What d'you reckon?" Ron asked Harry. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it? But I s'pose they might want someone older… Dunno if we've learned enough…"**

"**I definitely haven't," came Neville's gloomy voice from behind Fred and George. "I expect my gran'd want me to try, though. She's always going on about how I should be upholding the family honor. I'll just have to — oops…"**

Neville accidentally sunk his foot into the trick stairs . Just one of the many pitfalls of Hogwarts , whom Neville was particularly vulnerable to thanks to his abysmal memory . Both of them reached out to pull Neville out by the arm pits.

" Allow me . " A brash voice called out from behind .

" Wingidium Leviosa . " Neville was gently lifted up by some invisible hand , then deposited on top of the next stairs .

Walking right past them were a gaggle of Second Year girls . And right at it's head , was none other than Romilda Vane .

" Th – Thanks . " Neville blushed in embarrassment at being resuced by what appeared to be a second year .

" No Problems . You could do it you know , if you have faith in yourself . " She casually responded , giving a motherly like smile that properly belonged to someone much older as she passed them all . Behind her were looks of admiration from her companions . Ron sneered and scowled at her as she and her friends went right up the next flight of stairs , out of sight , his ears simultaneously burning pink . Clearly , his friend was smarting at being out witted by a second year .

" Come on Ron – let's move . " Hermione urged , nervously looking behind , at the slowing down of traffic up the stair case .

Ron was still Scowling all the way into the Common Room .

Later at the night , just as they were on that border between wakefulness and sleep , Ron murmured near him : "I might go for the tournament you know . If there's some way to enter the tournament – ha – if I win , I could show snooty arrogant brats like that girl . "

Harry turned over to the other side of the bed . In his mind's eye , he envision successfully entering the tournament , and even winning it . He should have felt triumphant at the image of winning the tournament , of holding the trophy amidst a crowd of admirers . But why did he feel a sense of impeding trepidation , instead of the joy that should bring ? For it felt as if a storm of sorts was coming , as he fell into sleep.

A/N 1 : No one wanted to guess whose body the time-traveler occupied ? I'm dissapointed )=. Just kidding . But based on one of the reviews from one of the reviewers ( Eewec) it's quite fitting in an ironic sense , isn't it ?

A/N2 : Just FYI , Cthulu is a creature from one of HP Lovecraft's works. To me , it's quite a fitting way to describe Time-travelers . After all , they are beings far more advanced than us .

A/N 3 : Right from the very start , I considered putting this as a HP/RV . But , I'm worried that it'll be considered as false advertising – one of the main reasons is that properly speaking , this is not the original Romilda . The soul Romilda has been displaced by a soul from the future. The original Romilda ….. let's not get into what shunted really means , shall we ? But , in a way , this story is very heavily centered around these two . If I was to make this a HP RV , this would share the honor of being one of four HP RV stories over 10k words . 2 I find implausible , one interesting .

A/N4 : My favourite pairing is HP/HR . BUT – I LIKE rare ships – as long as they are not utterly weird . Btw , I have a challenge for anyone who reads this . Write a DM/FD story over 10k words! There is no story over that limit right ,and at 41k Words , if this became HP/RV , this would be the largest HP RV story so far.


	10. Chapter 9 : The First Butterfly

A/N : Ah well . I've decided to take the plunge . Record broken!

A/N 2: Sudden Romances are often improbable , without some major build up. That's why many DM/Hr stories irk me a lot . Truly good stories are able to build the relationship up in a plausible way . I really hope that I don't screw up the relationship aspect of my own story personally . Note: Spoilers Then again , my pairing here , is strictly Platonic

A/N 3 : I had to edit the previous chapter to fix certain minor plot holes.

Chapter 9 : The First Butterfly

That very night , Harry initially struggled to sleep well . The sense of trepidation took a life of it's own in his dreams , like some invisible monster , or some grip reaper hanging over him ready to bring it's scythe down . On the surface , his dreams appeared totally normal . He was dreaming of a week end amongst his friends , of companionship with Hermione within the library , of playing chess with Ron after dusk . He dreamt that he was at a ball , dancing with some unknown , shadowy person . And it was that ball that gave him the greatest sense of dreaded anticipation . Almost as if what would happen in that ball could be crucial to the course of his entire life .

Then , the sense of trepidation was replaced with tangible causes of fear , as the dream took a darker turn . Professor Moody loomed over Harry , those maniac blue eyes seemingly laughing at him . Then suddenly , he was gone , replaced by a faired haired man . On his arms was a tatoo of the Dark Mark – the same mark he saw at the World Cup. He was on a broom stick , fighting a Dragon , dancing around it , looking for some opening . He had to get something that the Dragon was protecting . The scene suddenly shifted , and he was now underwater , swimming towards something , grim determination in his mind . There was someone precious to him in there , that he had to rescue .He froze as he approached over a crest in the sea , down below in some underwater village . But before he could see who it was , the scene changed .

He was through a maze . He had touched a silver gleaming cup . There was a jerk in his naval . There was a grave yard . There was a desperate battle for survival against some pale , serpentine man . Chaos reigned around him , besieging the bastion of resolution . In the back ground , he heard voices , a male voice asking a question . And the reply was given . It suddenly chilled him , as he realized what that question was , and what the answer was .

Just right then , two lights , one from his adversary's wand , and the other his own colided , producing the most hauntingly beautiful golden motes . Golden motes that sang the Phoenix call , glowing brighter and brighter until it embraced the entire scene . When it finally faded , the scene had totally changed . He was lying down , in a well appointed room as lush silver moonlight trickled through the nearby window . Over him was a crimson haired young woman with the most heartbreaking emerald eyes sang a sibilant lullaby to him A song , a hymn of comfort , of safety , of belonging . There was no other equivalent to it , save the song of the phoenix . It was so … gentle .. so peaceful . It was like looking into the mirror of Eresid once more he realized . And with a start , he saw for the first time that the women hovering over him had his eyes . Or more accurately , he had her eyes .But he had no time to comprehend the impossibility of it . So compelling , so magnificent , so comforting and exalting was the never heard before melody that it fortified his soul , and reinvigorated his trouble heart .

He dream that he closed his eyes , truly falling into slumber with that most loving song embracing his soul . He slid into new dreams , dreams that were truly his own .

When he awoke into the exquisite light of pre-dawn, he had no memory of what he had first dream that night , just a vague , niggling presence that soon was buried back into his sub-conscious .

Several minutes later , several levels below him in the Gryffindor tower , another girl awoke with a pleased look to her face . She had given hints embedded so deep that no legilimancer of this time could retrieve it . Hints so deep it that the boy himself did not know that it was there . An unknown Known , to put it crudely. An unknown known , for the boy would not be sufficiently receptive to much of what he was given last night . In any case , there was still a small probability that what she transmitted last night would not come to pass.

She spat out a mixture of water and toothpaste foam from her mouth . One of the advantages of an A.I cloud was the ability to do many things in one go , to listen while pondering , to speak to many at once . And that was just the tip of the ice burg of what many minds under the command of a single soul could do , she admitted , as she began dressing . Till she left her time-line , she had never been able to conceive how the souls of this time and before could function without a single AI or even an enhanced mind . Now of course , so long intervening and facilitating time-lines , she could understand somewhat .

" Pack " . She lightly commanded , tapping her wand on her bag . Crude little things , those sticks , but they were sufficient Focuses and amplifiers , she reflected . Of course , she could do this wandlessly , she reflected , as a horde of books and quills poured into the bottomless bag , but that would blow her cover

At least she had a chance to modify that wand to an even higher quality . Not as good as a Focus Orb of course , or Probabilitizer , but still … it was a much better improvement from that pathetically measly little unicorn haired wand the original owner wielded , she reflected as her personality A.I's began engaging in conversations with the rest of her waking "friends ". Some of them could eventually be true friends , but none of them were even potential nodes , fortunately.

She had been in Hogwarts in two other time-lines , but her first morning in this time-line Hogwart's was proceeding on better than the other two sojourns . Granted , she was sent to a time where there was an immediate crisis though . That made all the difference .

The Mundane , in small doses was a commodity that she appreciated given it's scarcity .

What he saw at Breakfast was a bit of a shock . His mouth simply gaped wide open when he approached the Gryffindor table . Ron's own surprise however , was channeled into the form of the sarcasm he majored in .

" Wow , Hermione . I knew that you were a book worm and a know it all – but reading at the breakfast Hermione ? That's a first . " Ron laughed as he and Harry sat down in front of Hermione at the table .

Harry sighed , waiting for the squabble to start . Such comments , in his experience were preludes for massive arguments between the duo .

Hermione simply nodded in acknowledgment , her head sunk down even deeper onto the book . Apparently , she was so focused on the book that she failed to comprehend Ron's words at all . He wondered what exactly got her hooked on her book . She was even eating without looking up from the book at all .

Ron stared , eyes wide , then simply shrugged. " Mental . " He commented , resignation obvious in his voice .

" What are you reading , Hermione ? " Harry cautiously asked .

" It's a book on Occulmancy . Personally , I find that subject rather intriguing . Shame that the only place where books can be found on that here is in restricted section within the library. " The words poured out of her mouth , stumbling over one another . All the while , her face was still stuck down onto the book .

Harry quickly looked up and down the table . There , sitting with another group of second year girls was the time-traveler . He quickly shot a dirty look at Romilda . She simply subtly shrugged once more , all the while still talking and laughing with her friends . His eyes immediately fled back to his food . He did not need anymore reminders that she could multi-task so naturally and effortlessly .

_I didn't charm it , Harry , if that's what you mean . _Her voice tartly rang out within his head .

_But you sent it . _Harry responded while chewing on scrambled egges .

_I didn't send to you , because you wouldn't take the initiative to read it . _She responded .

Harry struggled to keep his face from flushing from embarrassment , as true as he knew the statement to be .

_You can , and must learn that Harry , sooner rather than later . Remember what's at stake here . _

That was most certainly a bad time to remind him , he sourly thought to himself .

_I could un-ruin your mood rather quickly , if you like . _She brightly offered .

He pictured himself throwing his hands up in exasperated surrender , as he agressively attacked the bacon with a knife and fork .

The arrival of the course schedules quickly took his mind off pursuing such thoughts further . The upside was that it made Hermione realized there and then who was in front of her . She blushed furiously in mortification consequently.

" Charms , Herbelogy and transfiguration . " It was the last subject on her time-table that amused her the most . She could barely suppress a maniacal grin across her face. Someone was going to suffer the humiliation of a life time she gleefully thought .

On a less exuberant note , it was quite reassuring to see the schedule . It suggested that her job would be far , far easier . She pushed her plate away , having wiped in clean while thinking the last thought , cleared the last half drunk glass of milk .

" Let's go then . " She brightly remarked to her companions , and stood up , leading the way to the Charms classroom . Another round of small talk followed . It amazed her , till now how small adolescents of her age were able to talk , even now . Yet another advantage of . Without her Personality , she might have just screamed at some of the most unendurable and meaningless chatter around her that any sentient species could ever utter .

_Then again , _She lightly reflected as she walked into the Charms classroom , _all of us are often no better when we are these young ._

She sat down , among her regular coterie of friends . And even those who were mere acquaintances , and even some of the Ravenclaws in class chatted even more eagerly , staring at her in admiration as she walked in . Thankfully , she knew that it was almost certainly going to be a one day event . Rumors traveled fast in Hogwarts , but humans were liable to forget extraordinary or so called achievements just as fast as the rumors that gave rise to it . Especially one of such an insignificantly small magnitude.

" I heard she rescued a fourth year caught in one of the trip steps . " She read from the lips of a Ravenclaw two tables away . " It was a really intelligent move , casting a hover charm on that boy . " She immediately turned her attention back to unpacking her bag .

" Is it true , Romilda ? That you rescued a fourth year who fell over a staircase with a hovercharm last night ? " One of her voice recognition system identified it as one Eliza Riverdale . A rather silly gossip , based on the original Romilda's memories . It complemented that equally petty brained girl rather well . She didn't even bother to register her personality response to that most inane of questions. At least the Calvary was arriving in just 83 seconds precisely .

And right on time , the small diminutive part goblin , master duelist and charms specialist , Professor Fillus Flitwick strolled into the classroom on his stubby short legs . He mounted a small hill of books specially placed there to compensate for his... lack of physical stature . The time-traveler personally knew that those books were never replaced . Indeed , those books were nothing more than spare blank hard covered paper note books . Professor Flitwick was always a prodigious intellect who was extremely pleasurable to deal with and discuss with . Unlike many she could name . If Professor Flitwick just knew what she knew , well there was no need to get into that . It was just amusing picturing his reaction .

Professor Flitwick began to speak . Immediately , one of her began transcribing his words and comparing it with the on-mind archives , and possibly saving it . She split her core mind attention . On one hand , one part was handling her financial affairs and making certain necessary preparations outside Hogwarts, reviewing information from the dedicated to some of her affairs . It was going on well . Her orders for material for some of her projects were right on schedule .The other half decided to send several of the Avatar to surreptitiously observe how Harry was fairing , as her other quarries . Immediately , her soul was perceiving multiple events e at once . The difference with that , and merely being able to focus on one thing at a time , was akin to the difference between sight and blindness. It was an exquisite , and literal exaltation, even to one who had been very accustomed to this .

Hmmm .. That was interesting but not unanticipated. The transcripts revealed that her antics last night was already producing a different out come . Apparently , word of her antics the previous night had even reached Flitwick. While he disapproved of the use of magic within the corridors , all the same , he congratulated her for a most brilliant use of a Hovering charm , right at the very beginning of the lesson , to the envious , admiring glances from everyone in the class. Which bring her to the present .

" Now , can anyone tell me how to perform the Reparo charm ? " That was the easiest means of entropy reversion . Of course , the intention behind a Reparo was insufficient to reverse entropy above a certain level, or complexity.

Her highly attuned clairvoyant senses detected that this was a major juncture . Should she stay down , or should she stand up ? She already decided . Besides , it would be fun to light a fire under Hermione Granger .

Her hands shot up .

" Yes , Ms Vane ? " Flitwick squeaked .

" The Reparo charm , literally meaning repair , renew , or refresh in English is a charm intended to restore objects to it's original state . Simply put , repair it . To use the charm , tap the object . It might also be helpful to have a mental picture of the object as it was before it was broken , or more precisely changed . It is related to the muggle concept of Entropy , but , that's another matter altogether . " After taking care to enunciate every single word , She sat down .

There was pure silence in the class . Everyone appeared like they had been body binded by that . She knew that some , in incomprehension , some in awe , and some were impressed at the clarity of her expression. It was as expected . Also expected was Flitwick's delighted squeal at that . " Excellent . Take fifteen points for Gryffindor for this concise explanation of the Reparo Charm . "

She modestly nodded . " Thank you , Professor . " Immediately , she subtly muted some of the more rabidly envious Ravenclaws jealousy, into regarding her as a potential study partner . Romilda preferred to avoid such complications . One of her friend whispered into her ear . " That was cool , Ro !" Her personality responded with a smile . " Thanks . " Ah well , politeness cost nothing anyway . Soon , there was a wave of polite applause in the class rooms , as her class mates recovered their wits .

Her Core Mind spent the rest of the lesson amusing her self by poking holes at the inadequately puny understanding of these people about Magic . Then came the practical aspect of the lesson . They had to restore a broken plate into it's original state . She decided to look around , picked the smartest Ravenclaw and subtly influenced him to fix the plate three minutes into the task. Ten Seconds later , she followed suit . Satisfied that no one would see her , she pictured the plate as a coherent whole , and willed it to be so , pushing out a small trail of her magic into the target. No incantation , no wand work . Just pure will . All this happened in less than a second , and right before her was a flawless plate . She put up her hand . Too bad Ravenclaw had another ten points for getting it first , but it was necessary not to appear as a know it all . Plus , she had plans for that person . He was one of those potential nodes that made Hogwarts a rich gold mine worth of nodes , and a fairly influential one at that .

" Perfect ! Everyone – look – Romilda has gotten it too ! " Flitwick exclaimed . Simultaneously , Romilda searched for someone who was receptive to help . Her teaching skills needed to be taken on for a warm up . She subtly made several sub conscious queries around the room . Nearest to those who would welcome help was Thelma Holmes , a fellow Gryffindor . A chess lover , according to the records , and a casual acquaintance of the original Romilda..

She slid up to Thelma , who , without success was tapping again and again , murmuring Reparo frantically .

" Hey Thelma ? Say Reparo , think Repair , and picture undoing a chess move while you are tapping the plate . " She politely suggested .

Thelma looked up in surprise , shrugged then nodded . Why not ? The alternative was dong the same thing again and again without success . She pictured undoing a move that led to her check mate in her very last game , imagine that that there was the words , repair written over it , almost like someone writing on a magical photo . Then she murmured one more time : Reparo . The shards began moving , sliding towards one another . Thelma gasped in surprise at the feat occuring before her eyes . And that was her fatal mistake . The act of doing so made her lose focus . The movement of the shards suddenly stopped . Her shoulders slumped .

" Go on , Thelma . Focus a little while longer and you can do it . " Romilda gave her a thumbs up , and wandlessly cast a confidence charm on her . Fueled by Dopamine , and a sudden surge of confidence , the second reparo produced swirls of magical energy only Romilda could see . These beautiful cyan swirls knotted the shards together , forming a spooky spectral image of the original plate . Then , with a sudden flash , the shards merged with one another. Atoms began re bonding with one another , forming a seamless solid . Entropy reversed around them , as the original breakage of the plate was undone , an all encompassing glow of an indescribable hue surrounding the plate . Then , it was over . In the place of shards was a seamless plate of gleaming white porcelain .

Thelma blinked in astonishment , as it was all over . Romilda encouragingly tapped Thelma on the shoulder , grinned widely at her , and whispered : " See Thelma ? It isn't that hard isn't it ? " She gave an encouraging squeeze on her shoulder .

What happened next proved that the butterfly effect was well and kicking . Some of her closer " friends " , so to speak began signaling their willingness to accept her tutelage . Apparently , Romilda's attempts to aid Thelma changed the perception of those around them , being more positive and receptive to any theoretical offer of her assistant . Why not oblige? There was always a unique thrill in instigating the spark of realization amongst others .The other bonus was that it threw the sole potential node within the class an interesting challenge . She had no intentions of directly and blatantly revealing the truth to him yet . Let him enjoy his child hood a little longer , she reasoned . Unfortunately , poor Mr Potter has no choice in that aspect , unlike many of the other nodes present in Hogwarts . That being said , she could subtly influence them without being as direct as Mr Potter , or with some others already caught in his Periphas .

Herbelogy was with the Slytherins , with all that usual what passed for melodrama among adolescence tension . Her Core Mind simply plotted various course of actions for the various Targeted Potential Nodes within Hogwarts during the lesson , leaving the lesson itself to her other . Frankly speaking , their concept of Herbelogy lacked even a precise and accurate understanding of genetics – plus , machines within a century or so usually made what they learned unnecessary and obsolete . Now , if they were covering breeding this year... she might have deign to devote some of her Core-mind to the lesson at hand .

Then came Transfiguration . She was positively savoring this with anticipation , and a certain mischievous glee . If she could hold of McGonagall for a little while …. inwardly , she gave a most wicked grin . Who said that those in her job could not indulge in some fun while working?

" Our primary focus this year will be on Animate to In animate transfiguration . Simply speaking , this form of transfiguration turns an animate object , such as an animal , into an inanimate object . " Professor McGonagall begun .

Romilda personally wondered what would happen if these people realized what they were truly doing . The truth was that the principal of the Conservation of Mass and Energy was well and truly alive when it came to non-conjuration transfiguration . If only these people knew of Quantum theory and Schrodinger Cat . Once you realize what was really going on at the sub-atomic level in transfiguration , It was actually very difficult not to end up with an imperfectly done transfiguration , unless you somehow lost focus and aborted the second half of the transfiguration . A cat being turned into a football underwent several changes . First , you had to turn all molecules into pure rubber , or at least a vast majority of them . Then the atoms had to be arranged into a hollow sphere – simply picturing it was sufficient . The only way you end up with a furry football was if you believe that an improperly done transfiguration would end up so- this was the trap that most students of this time fell into . They accidentally transfigured the whole cat into fur and reshaped it into a ball .

Of course , if you chose to transfigure the cat into a ball shape without changing its' molecules , you would produce something even more grotesque – a football with blood on the very surface , perhaps , a bone lattice , and a protein compound filling the body of the football . The reason why people were taught to change an animated object with a rhyming inanimate object was because it somehow , subconsciously made them believe it was easier , and hence enhanced their "belief " that they would be successful .

As her listened to the Professor explaining how to convert a kitten into mittens , Romilda reflected that Professor Mc Gonagall definitely knew that it was pure nonsense that rhyming objects were easier to transfigure into one another . All transfiguration of an object to another of equal mass required the same degree of power , and magical Dexterity . After all , kitten rhymed with mittens in English , but sounded utterly different from one another in , let's say , Japanese . Starting by transfiguring two rhyming objects was nothing more than a confidence trick . Of course , the only reason why this trick was used was because no one at this time had any idea just how easily malleable confidence was by other means . The Cheering charm was too crude to instigate a boost in confidence .

She absently converted one of her kittens straight into a pair of perfect , purple dyed mittens , after jabbing her wand at it several times without meaning to change it for appearance sake . That kind of control was useful to get her used to her soul core and learn how to control her magical dexterity in this body. The truth was , she cheated . One advantage of having bonded was the ability to focus on multiple things at once . It too a bare minimum of her potential cognitive abilities to convert the proteins , calcium , and sugars that made up the kitten into fibers , and far less to change the molecular structure of the uppermost layers of the fibers to reflect only purple light . If she really wanted to , using this method , she could create a mitten that would only reflect ultra-violet light – or indeed , any light on the Electromagnetic Spectrum . There was another way of course – simply picture the kitten becoming a pair of purple mittens . You do not need to know the molecular structure , or what caused color. This , however , was a more inefficient way, plus , it required a lot of Soul Core willpower and magical strength . You were basically actually performing a huge range of virtual transfigurations before your efforts underwent Quantum Collapse and colace into a single result . That result lacked precision . She could do it just as well as the first method though , if not for the fact that she disapproved of the method for its inefficiency .

" Excellent work , Ms Vane – 10 points to Gryffindor . And you also performed a color changing spell successfully – another 5 points to Gryffindor . " Mcgonagall beamed at her . Romilda curiously tunneled her way through McGonagal's rather thin occlumancy shields, before withdrawing . It was clear that McGonagall was hoping that she had another Ms Hermione Granger among her cubs .

She threw down the gauntlet to the Slytherin potential node in the class room . Would he take the bait , she wondered? The average predictions of her were 25.2% on the first attempt . Nope – no luck . He looked a little mad though that someone beat him to the punch , and went one up too, though .

The rest of the lesson blazed past . During which , she set one of her to work on an action plan to contact some of the potential nodes she had observed , while she further amused herself by giving hints and teaching some of her fellows on how to transfigure .Once or twice though , the time-traveler had to cheat by casting Confidence charms on the especially stubborn .

Then came the end of the lesson . She quickly checked up on her magical Avatar – everyone was in the right position . Perfect . She decided to proceed with her plan .

" Professor McGonagall ? " She asked in a respectful tone .

" Yes , Ms vane ? " The teacher pushed her glasses back up .

" I actually have some questions , Professor McGonagall . Are you free right now ? " Romilda already knew the answer to that .

" This is my last lesson for the day . I suppose I could spend some time entertaining your queries , Ms Vane . " McGonagall kept a poker face within , and primly responded. Inside though , Romilda could clearly sense her emotional state . If there was one thing that Minerva McGonagall thrived on , it was when her pupils asked her intelligent and fascinating questions . That , in part was a major source of Hermione's rapport with her head of house . Thankfully , Romilda had five years to subtly influence McGonagall , so as to slowly produce a paradigm shift in the way the Wizarding world thought of transfiguration and matter. This was probably going to be the first salvo in her campaign to slowly influence the study of magics along scientific lines . But , she had to proceed slowly , of course .

" Professor , why is it that our first transfiguration usually focus on changing one object into another related object that rhymes or shares certain similar sounds ? "

" Because objects that rhyme with one another are easier for new learners to transfigure . " It was a standard answer of course , and good enough for many . Of course, it was a tragedy that such an answer was good enough for many – such attitudes were detrimental to the progress of magic., and made Romilda's job that much harder.

" I don't understand professor . " Romilda confessed . " A kitten and a mitten may rhyme in English , but they most definitely don't rhyme , in let's say , Romanian . Things do not simply add up . "

McGonagall gave a rare smile to her . " I suppose you have a theory of your own then ? "

She pretended to consider the question for a few seconds . " Yes . " She confidently replied . " Perhaps its a way of encouraging students , by making them think that its easier to transfigure objects that rhyme with one another . So , I suppose , its' just a teaching trick ? "

McGonagall nodded . " That is precisely the right answer . There is no reason why its' more difficult for a kitten to be turned to let's say , a blanket , compared to turning one to a mitten . There's even a term for this trick – it's called the Placebo effect. "

Romilda pretended to frown . " I have a squib uncle actually . " Technically true . " And he works as a physist – or is it physicist ? " She pretended to frown in confusion . " Physicist ." McGonagall corrected. " He once made a claim that , short of conjuration , when you are transfiguring one object from another , the end product cannot have more … mass , I think , than the original . Is it really true ? Or is it just another Muggle Superstition ?" She asked , perfectly taking on the role of an ignorant Muggle born .

" Actually , the Muggles are more intelligent than you give them credit for Romilda . " The professor frowned " You see - " Just then , one of Romilda's avatars came back with an alert . The event she was waiting for was about to start Immediately , the Core-mind splitted her attention between McGonagall and the comedy that was about to begin . "

"**You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Harry - both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy -"**

"**that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"**

" - there is a reason why we start of with transfiguring larger objects into smaller objects . A kitten , for example , is heavier than a mitten . Beetles for example , are heavier than a single button . "

Talk about double standards , she wrly thought as she anticipated what was to come next.

**Malfoy's pale face went slightly pink.**

**"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."**

"**Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry, turning away.**

**BANG!**

**Several people screamed - Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face - he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he'd even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall.**

Payback's a demanding creditor , Draco . Romilda smugly grinned internally,

" You see , if you recalled from the beginning of your first-year , transfiguration takes some magical power to transform one thing to another . If the resulting object actually has less mass than the original , you are actually vanishing some of that mass . "

"**OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"**

**Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing.**

**Everyone in the room broke out laughing at that. **Romilda dearly wished that she could too , but for obvious reasons , that was out of the question.

**There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry — at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head.**

" If the resulting object has more mass , then you are actually performing some conjuration . "

**"Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly.**

**No," said Harry, "missed."**

"**LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.**

"**Leave - what?" Harry said, bewildered.**

Romilda internally did the mental equivalent to a face palm . She had a long way to go with this one, she sighed.

" Now , you would not learn exactly why now , but vanishing is less magically exhausting than conjuration , though both still require a great deal of focus ."

"**Not you - him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody's rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head.**

**Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons.**

" What you are actually doing , is vanishing part of the kitten's mass when you are turning it into a mitten . For this reason , and other reasons too , human transfiguration is more difficult . Turning a human into a Dragon , or into a ferret is quite a feat considering the differences in size and complexity. "

"**I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again - it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more.**

Oh , Mc Gonagall . If only you knew , girl . If only you knew .Irony was probably the best taste of all.

"**I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain.**

" Wait a moment " Romilda asked . " Does that mean that making an object simpler is also a form of vanishing , of a sort ? " At the same time , she was laughing manically within . Her plan had worked of perfectly . Something for the archives for the crew back home to have a good laugh over , she mused.

**Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…"**

**The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. "Never - do - that - again -" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again.**

" Why , yes . That's a very astute observation , Romilda . " McGonagall congratulated .  
Well , that was more helpful for the Professor's high blood pressure , then the alternative . Plus , she got to see the Ferret humiliated in comprehensive detail . Draco Malfoy was a most annoying obstacle in one of her previous missions , so she had a sort of perverse pleasure in allowing his torture to be prolonged.

The poor Dragon Ferret Hybrid bounced higher and higher and higher , each time failing even more helplessly and contorting into more absurd angles . It was quivering with the utmost fear , as the peak of its' bounce gradually neared the roof . And there was McGonagall to save him . Honestly , it would be a poetic justice of sorts if Draco ended up in the same Cationic state as the poor Longbottoms . Considering how many times the arrogant idiot had mocked Neville over that , he probably deserved it . Especially considering the real identity of Alastor Moody.

" So , we are assuming that vanishing something into nothing is actually reducing an object to its' simplest state – nothing . " Romilda offered. Inwardly , she could barely control her laughter . The longer she kept McGonagal pinned , the longer that poor albino ferret would suffer the ultimate humiliation . Right now , the poor Ferret was bouncing up and down from roof to roof , squealing again and again . Moody was now walking off to his office , bouncing Draco Malfoy like some basketball .

" You are actually correct . If you are interested in finding out more about the relationship between conjuration and vanishing , there are quite a lot of books in the library . Some are in restricted section , but I could sign a note for you allowing you assess to some titles , if you wish . " Now that was a good sign and quite a good start . Romilda knew right now , that if she kept this up , she would be able to exert influence on Minerva Mcgonagall in the longer run . The other side of her tightened her Occlumantic barriers frantically , so as to stop her from falling to the floor , laughing . Poor Draco was now forming his name , one letter per bounce . His body was curved into a big D , two pairs of legs folded into a curved D as he bounced up .

" Well , I'll be heading to my office now ," McGonagall commented . " You are welcome to follow me back , if you have more questions . "

The Ferret's head and upper body collided with the ceiling with a terrifiyng force .

" Thank you professor . " Romilda scooped up her bag to follow . In the mean time , Mad Eye had gotten up to C .

Her conversation with the professor now reached a point where she was asking where did all the extra mass went to during transfiguration . She was also engaged with a polite debate with McGonagall over whether it was easier to transfigure two objects made out of the same material . Romilda was trying to implant the idea that the best place to start in transfiguration was transfiguring one object into another , both made out of the same material . And later , making the same object change the material it was made up off without changing its' shape.

All the while , Draco was getting tortured in all sorts of creative ways . He was bounced as a tight ball , as a complicated knot , getting spin into the air , bouncing up the steps . Ah well . That guy would probably never know that one of the very worst days of his life was about to become even worse , curtesy of one Time-traveler masquerading as Romilda Vane . She did not even try to control the joyous skip in her steps as she conversed with McGonagall on the way to her nearby office . She even managed to stretch the conversation all the way down to the Great Hall , right pass the spot where Draco's torment had begun .

Minerva McGonagall would not hear of what happened until the very next morning .

Romilda winked at Harry as she passed by the place Harry was seating , just as she was leaving Professor McConagall . The only downside though , was that Hermione looked at her with great displeasure and an accusatory stare . The girl was fast , Romilda gave her that .

Inside , Romilda rolled her eyes . What a killjoy.

A/N 4 : This and the next chapter was again meant to be one chapter . But , I've decided to split it into two .

A/N 5 : Do you agree with Hermione ?


	11. Chapter 10 : Dysfunction Diagnosis

Chapter 10 : Dysfunction Diagnosis

" You shouldn't have done that you know . "Hermione quietly remarked to her companion , perched in front of her atop the walls of a battlement on the rooftop of Hogwarts . The girl in question was idly fingering structures that Hermione could not see with her eyes .

" These wards are impressive for their time . There are even wards making falling off this battlement outright impossible , do you know that ?" Regretfully , the younger girl withdrew her fingers away from that invisible... Hermione was very certain that whatever it was , it probably had something to do with wards .

" You are evading the issue . Romilda , why did you do that ?" Hermione's voice clearly reflected her displeasure .

" Would you be saying that if Malfoy insulted your mother directly , too ? " Romilda quietly asked .

Hermione froze for a moment . " Yes . " She seemingly resolutely responded , though the slight uncertain wavering of her voice was enough to betray her .

" No . " Romilda shook her head . " Malfoy deserved what he got , Hermione , full well . Or are you telling me that you have some feelings for that blond dragon ?" She quirked her head in a querry .

Hermione spluttered at that . " Of – ofcourse not ! That's absurd! I'd rather die before having feelings for that blond brat . " She shooked her head severely , her face clearly showing that she'd rather eat a whole carton of Vommit tasting Berties Everybean than consider the idea .

Romilda gently laughed , a creepily knowing laugh , all the same .

" Not this Malfoy perhaps . This Malfoy is a pathetically pale intellectual and mental shadow of his father . In other words , a difficult to redeem idiot . In this time-line , the personality he shows to you is very close to his real one . But some other Malfoy's , in some other time-lines wear a mask , concealing radically different personalities and attitudes . I'm afraid that this Malfoy falls into the first category of Malfoy's , Hermione . " She admonished .

" Wait , don't tell me that some other Malfoy's crushed on me in secret. " Hermione considered that thought for a moment . " But , it does make sense doesn't it . If the possibility's of such low plausibility can form a time-line in the multi-verse , then there must be time-lines out there where - " She shook her head , clearing a nauseating image of both of them in front of the altar .

" It's not as rare as you think , Hermione . " Romilda chucked a little . " But , I'm afraid that the Malfoy's of those time-lines are very different people within from the Malfoy of this time-line . " Hermione visibly sagged in a bizarre mixture of relief- and a hint of disappointment ? Not that Romilda would ever tell her that though . It was quite counter-productive.

" But enough about Malfoy . Have you finished the book that I sent to you ? " Romilda asked .

Wordlessly , Hermione nodded and quickly pulled out a black , leatherbinded book.

" I assume you don't need it any more ? " Wandlessly , the book floated back into Romilda's bottomless bag. " You are very conscientious , Hermione . You've clearly followed my suggestions , and put quite a lot of effort into practicing . Something that I fear your best friend will not do at all . " Romilda leapt down the battlement , and landed softly on the floor

" Well , I found it quite interesting . " Hermione remarked . " If Occlumancy is as useful as you claim , then it will be a skill worth learning . "

Romilda arched an eye brow . " Still , Hermione ? Sub-consciously , you still have your doubts . And as long as you doubt in any significant manner , it'll be hard for you to learn from me ." Hermione opened her mouth to protest , only to be headed off . " Look closely , Ms Granger . "

Suddenly , the air between them shimmered slightly , and a gentle humanoid mist gathered from seemingly nowhere . Within seconds , it colaced to a life size , highly detailed replication of a person . A replication of Romilda Vane's body , and clothing , right down to the very slightest detail . The only difference , was that her eyes were closed .

" Activate . " The original softly commanded .

The eyes of the clone snapped open suddenly , and straightened up in a most disconcertingly human-like way .

Hermione stared blankly in total shock . Standing in front of her was an entity that conventional magical theory branded as near impossible to construct , even wandlessly.

" Go ahead , Hermione . Touch me . " Hermione hesitated , before curiousity , like an unfeeling master drove her hand forward . Flesh gently touched what felt to be flesh .

" It's not flesh, Hermione . It's an illusion of flesh created by this Magical Avatar . " The original Romilda offered. " You'd find , that for all intents and purposes , this Avatar is difficult to distinguish from me . "

"How - " Hermione whispered .

" It's just a projection of myself , and a duplication of my conciousness . Think of my painting being disassembled down into a few motes of magical energy . Of course , this Avatar is even more intelligent than one of your magical paintings , Hermione . " Romilda nodded once .

" Personality Matrix activated . See you later , Core . " The Avatar waved goodbye as she walked down towards the staircase leading to the lower floors .

Hermione looked wistfully at that projection of Romilda .

" You would really like to learn how to do this , don't you ? You'll need an artificial intelligence first , and quite a lot more knowledge about magical theory , much of which has still not been discovered or conceived of . " Inwardly , Romilda was satisfied that the girl's doubts , whatever was left before had now been swept away .

" Now , that I've given you some real , empirical proof that I'm from the future , let's now commerce our study of Occlumancy . Let's see how far you've gone , shall we ? " Twinkling Chocolate Dark Eyes locked straight into Hazelnut Brown eyes .

While Hermione had her first taste of active Legilimanccy , several floors below them , the Avatar paced back and forth . More properly speaking , the Avatar was not so much an independent entity but rather , a second mouth , eyes , ears and hands to a single soul .In other words , a way for a person to be in two places at once , up to a point. Given how poorly understood Soul-mechanics was at this point of time though , it was safe to say that no one could pull it of in this time-line , at least to the degree of complexity , life likeness and the fact that the Core-mind and soul perceived in real-time what the Avatar perceived, thought what the Avatar thought and felt what the Avatar felt , all the time the Avatar was active . .

The resolution , to use the term crudely , and inaccurately , of the Avatar was basically so high that the feelings of the Avatar was exactly how the original was most likely to feel . And right now , Romilda was feeling most disappointed , though again , she was not surprised . That silly boy had gone up to play Chess with his "best mate " , completely forgetting that he had an appoitment . Her Avatar shook her head in resigned condemnation . Harry Potter had many negative personality issues to be resolved . That being said , it was quite excusable – given the fact that his influences were light years from ideal .

Five minutes was up . It was now time to remind him .

_Harry . _A familiar voice rang out sharply within his mind .

" Check . " Ron muttered . Sometimes , Harry wondered why he even bother playing chess .

_Harry . _The voice was even more severe , and louder . Who could it be ? Harry moved his king away from the check position . Just then , he realized again . He just remembered that-

_Good Harry . I was afraid that I might have had to resort to more drastic measures . Come . Out . Right . Now _. The voice emphasized every last word , in a tone that clearly indicated that it's mistress would brook no opposition . Harry cursed his forgetfulness , for the umpteenth time . Now , how was he to get out of that fine little mess that he found himself in ? At the same time , he idly wondered what would happen had he said no .

_Do you still think like this , when it's your life on the line at the end of the day ? _Her tone of admonition was unmistakable .

He barely surpressed his urge to hang his head in humiliated shame at that .

He decided to try to find a way to leave without offending Ron . An idea occurred to him . Harry briefly looked out at the massive clock in the Common room . Then , he proceeded to play the next few moves shoddily .

" I give up . " He sighed , yielding the game to Ron . Harry looked up at the clock again . " I just remembered something . One of the teachers asked me to meet her soon , so I'll have to go now . Sorry about that . " He apologetically attempted to mollify Ron , before running out of the Common room . Harry ran as fast he could towards the Seventh Floor . Based on what he saw , Harry decided it was not a good idea to annoy the time-traveler . He hoped that forgetting an agreed upon appointment did not rank highly among things that irked hr .

Leaping up the steps on the stairs , several steps at the time , Harry quickly rounded one marble encased corner of the staircase of the 6th Floor . As His hands briefly swinging his body around the bend in the staircase marble railings , he saw Romilda waiting at the very top of the next flight of steps . That girl had an unreadable expression on her face .

" Erm , erm , yeah . Sorry about forgetting about the meeting - " Harry began stammering an apiology .

" You are not Ron , Harry . Stop acting like your friend . " She kept her voice neutral . Well , as neutral as a slightly unsheathed blade could be .

" Yeah , um , erm . " The sense of relief he felt was an opposite emotion producing the same symptoms .

" Clearly , your mind is not ready today . " She lectured in the same neutral tone . No contempt , no insults , just a plain , calm neutrality , over laced with a faint hint of disappointment . Somehow , Harry preferred if Romilda simply sneered at him in contempt . This tone was infinitely worse.

" Very well then . " She sighed , then stretched out her palm . For a brief moment , Harry thought that she had originally intended to say more . He didn't pursue that thought further though , for in that very instance , a silver scroll laid within her outstretched palm . " I intended to teach you the Mind Arts . The arts of defending your soul and mind . The arts of maximizing the performance of your mind . The arts of knowing yourself . The arts of mastering yourself , and your emotions . That is the art of Occlumency . "

" Occlu- Occlamanwhat ? " Harry asked . It was all happening too fast .

" What are you defending against , Harry though ?

"Erm , You said that you wanted to teach me how to defend my mind from being read didn't you ? " Harry responded.

" Some ways . There are some ways that a mind can be read by today's magic , and other methods and means of obtaining people's thoughts , that are not invented yet . Occlumency was initially designed against the method of … mind-reading , to put it very , very crudely known as Legilimency . If you are receptive , I will teach you an Occlumency even more advance than what is available today . You could make it to that level – though as not as you are now . " The last comment by Romilda stung Harry badly , for some strange reason . His Hermione voice told him that she had a very good point , while his Ron side simmered in passionate , barely controlled rage.

Romilda rolled her eyes . Clearly , Romilda knew his thoughts . It felt as if Harry's privacy was being violated.

" I know your emotions , Harry , and the thoughts you have in your surface . But enough about this . You are obviously not teachable right now , Harry . " Her face was still neutral when pronouncing that .

" Take the scroll . " She ordered . Harry slowly picked it up from the palms of Romilda's left hand . " Harry James Potter , I strongly suggest you read through this scroll in the common room, and practice some of what It recommends . It is spelled such that only you will see the contents as it is . All the others will see it as some random writings , that will not raise their suspicion . If you read through this scroll , and try it out , we will move much , much faster . "

Harry took it , and could not hold back a scowl . Some of her comments were really brutal , though a case could be made for their validity . " Is there anything else , Romilda ? " He asked in a flat voice .

" If you can prove that you are committed right now , then there's nothing else for me to say. But if there isn't ….. I will send an owl telling you when we next meet . " Romilda turned , and made her way up the stair case .

If this was punishment , it was certainly accurately delivered , Harry sullenly thought as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room . On the other hand , a part of him strongly questioned Romilda's right to do so .

Harry drowned away the rest of the night working that strange resentment of by indulging with round after round of distracting chess with Ron .

" You are fast , Hermione . You can already visualize your shield , and my legilimantic attacks . "

Sweat covered Hermione's pale face. For a girl who had few things that truly were an intellectual challenge to her , arguably , learning Occlumency was one of the most taxing mental experience yet . And that was despite the fact that Romilda had assured her that those Legilimantic attacks were just feather touches. In fact , she went so far as to demonstrate to her pupil what a full leglimantic attack was , when Hermione curiously asked . Now , that was a very surreal experience . It was probably the difference between getting ram down by a four by four Semi , and feeling a light breeze.

" I suppose I could ask you whether you still wish to continue . But , I know you'll stretch yourself to your limit , and you are fast approaching it . Very well , then . It's been a good first lesson , and you've progressed far . You can progress even faster , if you allow me to teach you through your mind , thoroughly , though . " Romilda offered.

" Doesn't it defeat the purpose though ? " Hermione asked in a weary voice .

" No , not really . You'll have to try it out to truly understand , though . " Romilda responded.

The older seeming girl spent sometime considering it , before finally nodding . Hermione wondered whether her curiosity was getting the better of her .

Just then , Hermione smelled the aroma of hot chocalate nearby . Romilda sat down right besides Hermione , extending a cup of Hot Chocolate to her . It took every ounce of Hermione's willpower not to jump away in shock to this possible violation to this law of transfiguration .

" Is it really - " Hermione began in a mixture of wonder , and expectation .

" Conjured ? " Romilda gave a mischevious grin . " There's no reason that I can't conjure up compounds made up of Hydrogen , Carbon and Nitrogen right ? If I can conjure an Animal , why can't I conjure food ? Have you ever wondered about that ? "

" But the Five Laws of - "  
" Only exist because Wizards completely fail to understand molecular biology . Yes , the normal way of transfiguration makes it exceedingly hard to conjure food , true . It does not help that the so called Five Laws of Transfiguration acts as a barrier of belief . And without Belief you can do anything , you can't do magic . Magic , partially is a suspension of disbelief . " Romilda gently lectured .

There was still doubts, even evident on Hermione's face .

" Go ahead , Hermione . Drink it . And know this . A book is only as reliable as its' author . When you trust books , you trust its' author . But no human author is omniscient , Hermione . "

" I know that , intellectually . " Hermione softly responded . " But old habits die hard . "

" But , they do die , don't they ? " Romilda laughed quietly , all the while looking at the Star Strewn sky . " Beautiful , as always . " She then whispered .

Both of them fell silent for a few minutes , contemplating and enjoying the serenely glowing night . All the while , Hermione sipped her cup of hot chocolate . There was some kind of safety , of calmness . It was so ideal , so perfect , that the only thing missing was the smell of parchment . And perhaps that the Trio could not share in this though .

Romilda turned away from the stars , and towards Hermione . " I'm sure Ron would not appreciate something like this though . Harry , maybe . "

The mention of her friend led Hermione to wonder how he was doing . " Romilda , you said that you plan on teaching Harry Occlumency too , didn't you ? " Romilda nodded .

" Just from one lesson though , I know that Occlumency requires quite a lot of commitment and focus to learn . It's also very tiring and can be rather … erm , uncomfortable . " Hermione groped around for a more diplomatic word . Intrusive was perhaps too harsh . Then , she berated herself for that foolishness . It was very likely that Romilda could see through those euphemisms effortlessly, even with an Occlumentic shield up .

" He's not ready . " Romilda answered , eyes gazing out at the distant moor spreading out before the Castle . Her eyes turned more alert , and the mist that seemed to obscure her sight cleared . She turned to look at Hermione , her eyes sharp and alert – no , even penetrating .

" Hermione Granger . I have assigned Harry some work to do on his own , in preperation for learning Occlumency . You are not to remind him that he has work to do , please . He must learn not to merely rely on you alone . " Romilda politely and urbanely asked .

" But - "

" It's been your dream to reform him , hasn't it ? To help him acquire an excellent work ethic . " Hermione was trapped at that . What else could she answer ? She nodded her head , in acknowledgment . Check . She knew very well what would happen next .

" In that case , Hermione , don't stand in the way of what you dreams . " Checkmate. Playing verbal chess against someone who could read your every move was well nigh suicidal , it seemed.

Hermione pondered for awhile that matter . " How do you intend to reform him though ? I've been trying for four years . " A corner of her she wondered whether Romilda subscribed to the doctrine that the means justified the end , but she chose not to verbalize it .

" What drives you , Hermione ? How did you obtain your impeccable dedication to your studies ?" Romilda challenged in response .

" Well , I love knowledge . But I suppose there has to be a reason why I love knowledge , don't I ? " Hermione mused . Romilda internally applauded her – Hermione was fast on the uptake , she'll give her student that .

" Because intellect often breeds a seed of curiosity . Harry is actually quite an intelligent , but rather lazy young man don't you agree ? I want him to remember once more what it was to savor the joy of learning , the joy of knowledge and the satiation of curiousity . His curiousity was strangled at birth by the Dursely's " Romilda briefly noticed that Hermione clenched her first at the mention of the Dursely's . " I merely want to resurrect that Curiosity once more . And its' within my capability to do so . "

Hermione looked at her with an unspoken how even written on her face .

" I can teach you through the mind , though you'll learn just as well through words and deed . You have the luxury of that . Harry does not . All I wish to prove to him though , are two things . One – the Dursely's have damaged severely mentally in many ways . It may not be very obvious , but if I was to teach him Occlumency , even through the mind , there are many issues that I have to first resolve . And if I do not teach him Occlumency , we'll be moving too slowly . " Romilda elaborated.

" The second , of course , is to convince him of the need of something as uncomfortable to people of your time as learning through the mind . " She added . " And , hence , we come back to you . "Romilda was clearly expecting a decision .

" Do you trust me enough ? " She asked , in a surprisingly direct way. That next sentence took Hermione aback .

Once again , suspicions and objections course through Hermione's mind . Could she be trusted ? But then again , considering how adept Romilda seemed to be with the mind , why was Romilda even offering her a choice ? Was she just being considerate ? Was there even a choice ?

" You've dance around the matter for quite sometime . What exactly is at stake here ? " There were still many unresolved questions about what laid beyond Voldermort. What other threats laid out . What else there was to fear ?

Romilda sighed . " I have been waiting for you to ask this question . There are things I can show you , but only if you can accept what I will show you . "

" Show me . " Hermione hoped that her curiosity would not prove her undoing .

" In your dreams , then . "

A cyan haired young lady , no more than her early twenties sat on the prepice of a cliff . Below were softly chanting waves , pounding upon the sugary golden sands . Above laid a sun , a main sequence sun like so many others in a single universe . A gentle late afternoon light , a lukewarm placid heat shining upon her skin . The azure ocean tinged with the slightest hint of the color that the alchemist of old could only dream of . Paradise for the mind to think , to spin out thoughts like bunnies .

Behind her , in the distant horizon , just faintly seen down the coast was a floating structure . A fluted structure made out of a silvery material . No , not fluted , but several flutes bounded together into a circle , steadily ascending higher and higher the nearer each flute was to the center . Until the final flue stood up above all its' peers , its' gleaming tower extending up to the dark blue distance , gateway to the heavens .

The strange thing to people of this time was this . The soul seating on the prepice of the cliff at the same time also was present within this dome of flutes . They did not know that you existed everywhere , and anywhere simultaneously in your dreams . For they knew not how to distinguish dreams from visions …. yet .

Externally , the skies momentarialy flashed , and contrasting against the azure blue emblazoned letters of the most royal burgundy . 01:00 GMT . For a few seconds , this wonder lasted , before vanishing once more , like it never had existed . Her guest within this dream , a Hermione Granger was drawn into one of the books within the fluted sphere , living the book in a dream within a dream . She knew , for she , appearing under the guise of Romilda Vane saw her limp body slumped down on one of the chairs within the structure in the horizon , an inactive shell awaiting the return of her master . The girl was making quick progress in Occlumency – sufficient to deter any passive Legilimantic penetration into her memories , deeper than the level of surface thought .

The girl known as Romilda Vane to the time-line she was currently in tutted at the same time she was thinking . At the very same time she was reflecting on Hermione , she was also pondering on the issue of a certain Mr Potter . To top it off , she had decided , on a mere whim to light a small ball of light , which continuously changed color up and down the entire visual electro-magnetic spectrum , from the deepest red to the most intense violet , and back again . Like a bird , the ball soared out from Romilda's outstretched hand , dancing Alphabets and Runes in a multitude of languages throughout the Multi-verse .

In a way , it was practice , a form of mental exercise , to think one or two lines of thoughts at once while affecting the environment around . She couldn't do it in the real world , save perhaps the room of requirement.

Romilda was resigned . Resigned , not in a fatalistic , but exasperated way . She knew, base on previous missions by her predecessors and colleagues what to expect in this time-line , approximately. Harry was a slacker , and slacking had evolved from a mere survival mechanism to a most nasty habit . When Romilda gave the scroll to Harry , she knew full well that there was an extremely high probability that Harry would completely ignore the scroll when he got back . Still , extremely high was not a certainty .

As expected , Mr Potter and thrown the scroll aside , into his trunk , reasoning to himself that it was quite late and that he could get started on it tomorrow . And the reason why he was late ? The usual – it amazed her how somethings could be extremely predictable in the multi-verse and some others could be very , very surprisingly unpredictable.. She knew that the scroll was likely to lie there , ignored for a long , long time . She had left spells on the scroll directly informing her when the scroll was open and closed , how long Harry actually spent reading it and how many times the scroll was open. Statistically , if Harry had not open it by the first night , the chances that the scroll would be open even once would be …. close to zero. Nevertheless , she decided to give Harry a week . Who knew ? Mr Potter might just surprise her , after all ?

The problem was this . She knew , with her Empath abilities and personality that she could coax Harry into dropping many of his bad habits given time . A few years earlier , a few months would have sufficed . But by this stage , it would take a long time for Harry to drop those undesirable habits – perhaps a year , or a year and a half . She could not afford that kind of time . More … drastic actions would have to be taken . Besides , those abusive fools of a relative had damaged him mentally in many subtle ways that were going to be extremely difficult to reverse by normal means. She could afford to go slow with some of these damages , but not with others.

In a way , she was quite glad she had many other options at hand , other than the conventional methods of dealing with someone from such a dysfunctional background . There were many time-lines where a truly serious attempt was made at those dysfunctions . This ranged from adoption , to the use of fear – the last , as an empath , she knew was quite useless as a tool for genuinely reforming someone as damaged as Harry. No – worse than useless , actually. One overwhelming advantage she had over those in the past was knowledge . Unlike so many many others , she knew Harry , his memories , and his personalities far more intimately than he himself probably conciously was aware of.

She regretted there was not much time for an indirect approach . Voldermort was a dangerous bomb that could easily destroy many nodes , and corrupt quite a few too , indirectly .

There were many other things Romilda wanted to tell him – but she knew , right there and then that unless she could change Harry , his attitudes and his down right hostile anti-intellectualism , most of all , that telling him was useless. Why waste time describing the incomprehensible ? Besides , that which he would understand would worry him a lot . By Strange Matter ! He couldn't even be told outright something as basic such as what would happen this year- he would worry to no end.

Years ago , Harry was once a precocious young child determined to know and to learn , to do well , to succeed . Years ago , Harry fell in love with knowledge . Years ago , that love of Knowledge was greeted with the harshest punishment . Years ago , Harry's passion was not only murdered , but dismembered . She would have to take the bones in that dry valley , and once more give flesh and breath life back into its' corpse. At least ….. it could have been worse . She had seen some other even more horrific cases from this time-period . There , no one would have morally objected to her means , considering what the end of non-intervention was .

She looked back up at the sphere , then turned back to the ocean , breathing out in relief . It seemed that Ms Granger accepted what she had been shown – given the sophistication of her mind , Romilda was not too surprise at that . No matter how thoroughly you know someone's mind , there was always the chance that the way they react differed from your predictions . This time , her predictions hit the bulls eye .

It was time to show her the next book then . Somewhere up in the distance , the projection of Romilda Vane gently pulled down a set of books from another shelf , offering them to Hermione.

The very earliest hint of dawn lined the cool skies . And , within the Gryffindor's tower , the Second Year herself roused herself , and rolled out of bed . The time-traveler suppressed a sigh , exiling it into the relative privacy of the mind.

Wandlessly casting the necessary charms to maintain her body . No one would see her do that , she made certain of this . Quickly , she cast a variant of the Switching Charm to change out of her night clothes , before sweeping the bottomless bag of hers with her out of the Dormitory.

A/N : Omakae below , highlight to see . It's semi-canon to this story … sort of . Shaded white , highlight to see .

Omakae :

When Romilda headed down to the Great Hall , she suddenly felt a hand pulling her away to one side . It was Hermione Granger , and obviously , she had a question . Many questions .

" Ask the most pertinent , my dear . " She softly said , as she felt her self being pulled into a classroom .

" Were we really that unprepared?" It was clear from her bleary eyes that she had continued her crying ever since leaving Romilda's dream .

" Worse , my dear . And I suppose you want to ask me why I did not show you any of your alternate's memories ? "

Hermione nodded , her eyes pleading .

" Because there were quite a few possibilities , with regards to your personal life . You would have found it quite hard to accept some of your mistakes – especially since it made you even less ready for what was to come . " Romilda turned , a mischievous glint to her eye .

" Love is not Eros , as you seem to assume , Hermione , it is Agapae . " The glint evolved into a Cheshire Grin , and Hermione had a sinking feeling about this .

" Do you know that Eros is just a function of certain chemicals in your brain ? I can arrange for you to feel what it is like to be in a Love of Eros . " She snapped her finger .

For a moment , Hermione felt nothing at all . Suddenly , every single crush , and every single hormonally fuelled thought that ever cross her mind seemed to explode in her head all at once . It was an ecstasy , a Europhia she had never felt before . Almost like some unendurable urge for release . Fire , agonizingly passionate fire burn through her veins and nerves , rendering her not just mute , but blind , and deaf to the world . Her body seized up for a moment , in a spasm . It was a most wonderful emotion in the world , as if she needed it . Then it began to fade , slowly , slowly like someone thrown into cold turkey . She opened her mouth , intending to beg for more -

Then she blinked . What exactly was she doing in this exaggeratedly stiff pose ? What just happened to her suddenly hit her , right the very next moment , and she blushed with the intensity of a dying sun .

" Eros is easy , and cheap . Romance and attraction can be seen as bunk, depending on how you define it . Unconditional Love is what forges a true relationship . " Romilda glided out of the room regally , leaving a furiously embarrassed , blushing and panting Hermione behind .

A/N ; This is my take on Smut , Lemon and love on First sight . Some of you may vehemently disagree with me on this .


	12. Chapter 11: Realizations Beyond Sanctum

A/N : I seriously hoped I didn't cross the line with that Omakae . But , if someone says so , I'll pull it off that chapter.

A/N 2 : For best comparison of what changes Romilda is making in this time-line , compare some of the text to Chapter 14 of the Goblet of Fire

A/N 3 : Yes , this is a filler , but think of this as a build up to a climax – probably in the next chapter . I have it already fully sketched out. Hope I don't blow it (=. Hint : I'm aiming for a crowning moment of Heartwarming next chapter . To tell you the truth I've NEVER attempted it before in any of my writings ever yet . Wish me the best . (=

A/N4 : Not mine , not for profit .

Chapter 11 : Realization beyond Sanctuary .

Harry did not come face to face Romilda again for the next two days . It passed by in a kind of a bliss – not counting the Ole Snivellus lessons , of course . One thing , however , that Harry seemed to notice was that Neville had finally , that year ceased to melt any Cauldrons . That being said , he did notice Romilda subtly pulling Neville aside one evening …. could he be one of the others ? Neville ? A node ? That very idea almost made him laugh for a moment – until he reflected on how inconsiderate it might have been , even to think so in private.

The one thing that fueled his anticipation for the whole week was the up coming lesson by , if what he heard in the Common Room was true , the legendary Auror , Alastor "Madeye "Moody. It was rather obvious where his title "madeye " came from. One man's wine was another persons' poison , unfortunately.

It was quite odd , seeing the Avada Kedava once again being demonstrated in their first lesson with Moody – almost sobering . Apparently , the rest of the class didn't seem to think so. They were even discussing those curses in the most excited , awestruck voice – even with some kind of reverence , even . It was obvious that Harry and Hermione begged to differ – but Neville was a completely different case. Moody had led him away – presumably to provide some comfort.

" They wouldn't be saying that if they experienced it first hand . " A familiar , proud voice remarked behind them . For the first time in two days , Romilda had directly approached him . That reminded him -

_Romilda , when is our next meeting ? _Harry suddenly remembered – _I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to reading the - _

_Read it then . Isn't Moodys' lesson warning enough? _Her voice tersely replied . That stung , badly once again .

Ron seemed however , to react adversely to seeing Romilda once more – his ears turned red. It was like a thundercloud had just intruded on a bright sunny summer sky , you would have thought from his expression . Romilda simply ignored him though .

Soon , she turned a bend , going in the same direction as Moody and Neville..

Her departure hardly quelled Ron's foul mood . Harry really wondered why Romilda , for some reason affected Ron that adversely.

" Vengeance is a hollow thing , Neville . " Romilda quietly responded . " Tell you what , I'll give you this scroll . Reading it may help you sleep better tonight . " She dug into her bottomless bag and gave him the scroll , before silently and subtly mentally suggesting : Try it . She gave an encouraging smile to that confidence-less boy , who stammered his thanks , before they parted their separate ways on the bend along the corridor.

Once Neville was out of sight , Romilda summoned one of her Magical Avatars into Coporal existence , to entertain her "friends" . Then , she strode off to the seventh level . She decided to see whether Harry could take the hint . That's not to say though , that she didn't regard Neville as valuable . But why not kill two birds with one stone ?

When Harry got back to his Dormitory , he noticed Neville lying on the bed , avidly reading a book which he was informed was on Mediterranean Plants . He smiled - Neville loved Herbelogy beyond anything else . It was a very shrewd move , on the part of Professor Moody indeed , and it raised Harry's opinion of him . Another thing , he noticed was a scroll . It looked like a near carbon copy of the scroll he had received on Monday . He froze , guiltily remembering that he had utterly forgotten about the Scroll the previous two nights … completely .

Perhaps.... now it was time to see why Romilda was so insistent about that scroll , after all .

" Come on , Harry . Let's go down to get our Divination Homework over and done with . " Ron complained behind him .

With a regretful sigh , he turned away from the scroll . There was still time to review it after completing his homework , after all.

When they got down , they saw a virtual market place in the Common Room . The twins were there , in a center of attention demonstrating their various joke shop products . He could see the glint of a multitude of knuts , sickles and even Galleons exchanging hands , as the products were selling out rapidly after each demonstration . Nevertheless , it was clear that while the Twins had turned the common Room into a shop that it was impossible to get anything done there .

" Mental , all of them . " Was all that Ron muttered as they headed for the library . Unusually though , Harry noticed that Hermione was somehow in a sitting posture , with a serene face on – right in a corner of the Common Room . That was quite unusual . He wondered just what Hermione was doing .

By the time Harry got back to the Dormitory ( after nearly getting caught by Flitch to boot! ) , he had forgotten all about the scroll . More so after he saw Hermione waiting for them in the Commonroom with a letter .

" Here - " Hermione begun , a little cautiously . " Snuffles just replied. "

When he saw in the letter that Sirius was heading back to Britain , he broke out into outraged ranting. Hermione wisely chose not to attempt to mollify that temper. Besides , Harry did have a very good point . When he was done , he stormed up back to the boys' dormitory.

For a long time , he stayed awake in the warm sanctuary of his bed , all thoughts on the fact that Sirius was heading back . What if he got caught ? Harry fretted again and again . In the background , Neville's snores were like thunder accompanying the dark clouds of Harrys' mind. Gradually , fatigue consumed him , finally returning him to a restless sleep.

When they saw Romilda at the breakfast table the next morning , Harry noticed , at the very corner of his eyes , Hermione silently muttering a spell , wand pointed at the time-traveler . Alarm bells spiked in his head . Surely Romilda would know what was going on ? To his astonishment , that Romilda did not seem to notice .

" What was that about ? " Harry whispered urgently to Hermione as Ron feasted on his food , trapped in a world of his own .

Hermione simply shook her head , but the troubled look that Harry had seen once in a while , especially before exams returned to Hermione's face.

He suddenly had an urge to turn around – and to his amazement , Romilda raised her hands slightly . But that was not the most shocking thing he saw – her hands actually shimmered slightly , as she raised it . Harry wondered just what kind of message Romilda was trying to send , precisely with that , before guiltily remembering the scroll . He really , really wondered why Romilda wanted him to read it . Strangely , no replies , nor any sense of Romilda's presence was felt in reaction to that . Harry shrugged . Perhaps she was busy with someone else.

That being said , Romilda's sudden absence was quite disconcerting . Though it had been only for a short time , for some reason , he felt strange without her presence. Almost like there was some disquieting shadow hanging above his mind.

The diadem stood upright within a cavernous space of immeasurable length . A bubble dimension of it's own .A millennium ago , a mage working in secret had created a Bubble Dimension generator of sorts , a very crude and massive one . It even came with the ability for certain dimensions to be "saved., " putting things simply. It came to be known as the Room of Requirement – a testimony to how much knowledge failed to be transmitted by Wizarding Kind over the ages. But , it was not for this reverie of history that Romilda had summoned this particular bubble Dimension.

No , it was a Diadem . While most magic was neither light nor dark , those two being artifical conventions by and large , this Diadem was obviously a work of the grossest evil . As an Empath , the time-traveler could mutedly sense , behind the safety of her Occlumantic barriers all of the worst emotions the human brain and soul could ever generate . Hate , Lust , Avarice , Murder , insanity . All , of course seemed so formidable – but in reality were only fleeting , corrupted shadows of reality .

There were few objects that were truly evil . No – any object lacking sentience could never truly be evil . But that thing , one of the viler constructs humanity had ever conceived was sentient – and more than that . It was en-souled with a soul resolved to give itself over to an Emphermal mirage of Power and Hate . Yet , there was this kind of genuine joy in watching such arrogant fools perish , knowing their true , and total powerlessness.

Right now , this contraption , this Horcrux was attempting to scan her mind , peering , looking into vulnerabilities , attempting to penetrate into her mind . She decided to selectively allow it access to various recorded experiences that were not her own . Namely , they were some of the projections and insecurities of one of the original owner of the bodies she had taken control off throughout the Multi-verse. It was even more entertaining seeing a Horcrux attempting to tempt someone based on artificial fears and vulnerabilities . She had no intention of even allowing it to see her Occlumantic shields , let alone the more esoteric shields within .

She removed her wand from her wand holster , and lightly cast a Hovering charm on it . A conduit of magic , leading the arrogant fragment of a soul within exactly where she wanted him .

_He will never ever love you . _The whispers begun . Idiocy – she rather not the person the Horcrux was talking about ever fall in love with her anyway .

_You will never find a mate . You will alwaus be alone , a no one , nothing , by yourself . _

She had to admit , being away from the Core-timelines ocassionally got lonely , but always was an absurd over statement .

_I can offer you a way out of this . You do not have to do this . _A blade slightly unsheathed – she had signified her intentions , telepathically to destroy that thing . Perhaps it was time to reveal another ace in her hand . She unfurled her Occlumantic shields .

_Truly impressive , young one . _It was fast on the uptake , she'll give him that .

_Are you going to play with your food ? _Some of her were murmuring . She sighed .

_Join me and you will gain glo_ry_ beyond your – _She tuned the voice out . It was over extending itself , getting closer and closer to her trap , within range of her mind's influence .

_Power? _She gave an bemused , long laugh_. Look around you , fool . You are my prisoner , and at my utter mercy . _She briefly savored the panick as the upstart Souling realized that the Occlumantic barriers were not only infront of it , but behind it . It was essentially trapped. _Have a nice day . _Her mind striked like a blot of lightning , erasing the pathetic fragment of a soul from existence . In her body , back in the Core time-lines , erasing a soul fragment from afar was a rather easy task. It was beyond the limits of this magic core , alas , else things would have been too easy. She had no choice but to lure the soul into the edges of her mind . Even entering the very edges of a mind rendered you at the mercy of the one you entered uninvited . That is , if that mind knew how to truly control his or her entire mind with ease and totality. The Horcrux had utterly underestimated her – it was very enjoyable listening to it's pompous pronouncements , actually . Not to mention the brief burst of shock before it was erased from this plane of existence.

It didn't even had time to scream its' death throes before descending into unknown oblivion. Her Soul-sight witnessed a Green mist , the tainted reek of the Soul Fragment transposed upon the diadem suddenly reverting back to nothingness. There was just the Diadem , and the Diadem alone , pristine as it had been on the day of its' creation.

Job Done . Two down , Five to Go. The Locket , the Cup , the Snake , the Ring and the boy himself . Sometimes , Romilda wondered why Voldermort didn't simply bury one of his Horcruxes , in let's say the Middle of the Sahara or atop the Himalayas – or at the bottom of the Marianas Trench . The vanity of the man was so great that 99% of the time ,or more with a Dark Lord Voldie present , he tend to leave his horcruxes in easily retrievable places.

It's just as well – Horcruxes slowed ageing , but not by that much . The Dark Lord was better of searching new , healthier bodies to process. Thankfully , it was a rare Riddle who decided on such a course.

Romilda mentally commanded the Room to change to a new bubble Dimension . The storehouse behind her wavered like some collapsing illusion before dissolving like some painting being viewed at increasingly low resolutions . A few seconds later , the scene reformed itself . She was now on what appeared to be at the base of a hill , under a sky of crimson , perpetual dawn . Grabbing the now inert diadem still hovering in the air, Romilda strolled up the Crest of a hill . Over the crest , the edge of a cliff was revealed . The cliff overlooked a dramatic , vibrant ocean of massive tides creating waves three meters high , far , far below .

She cast several variants of anti summoning charms on it , before willing the Diadem five kilometers out into the turbulent sea ahead of her . It plunged like a falling Satellite straight into the waters , soon disappearing out of normal sight , and even magical sight . Only one who truly understood how to use the innate powers of a node consciously could now retrieve the Diadem from the Room of Requirements . Effectively , until someone node native to this time-line learned how to evoke his full powers , the Diadem could not be retrieved . The Diadem was essentially lost to humanity.

Now … if only she could somehow lure Voldermort into the room of requirement . For those who knew how , Pocket Dimensions amplified certain of the powers of a node . Even within a Crude Pocket Dimension generator such as the so called Room of Requirement , the reality shaping powers of a fully trained Node were immeasurably strengthened , even up to the powers of a Super-node.

Her business was done here , anyway . She snapped her fingers , and the Room again dissolved .

Hogwarts first week end was quickly approaching . Unfortunately , it appeared that that Snape had decided to go on the warpath during the weekend lessons and demanded two eassays out of the entire class. Perhaps Neville's astonishing failure to melt any Cauldrons for one whole week triggered that particular streak of vindictiveness.

Harry felt , however , a strange sense of unease . It was , perhaps being thrust from a pleasant dream into a raging nightmare . He didn't know why it seemed that way . It was like he was blind , and then could now see again. It was hovering , like some dark presence at the very back of his mind , whatever it was .

He decided to distract himself by fritting away his Saturday Morning , playing Wizarding chess with Ron . Perhaps some catamaran would help.

The library , on that Staturday afternoon was moderately populated with various students . A low faint murmur acted as an ambience background , at least when the overly strict Librarian , Madame Pinch wasn't within earshot . Ordinarily , the Duo , Ron and Harry would have left their homework to Sunday . But given their workload , it was probably best to get the Bat of Slytherin's make-work away as soon as possible .

Just three lines away from completion , Harry overheard a soft murmur from a chatter of Fifth years nearby .

" Dark Lords , you say ? " A soft feminine voice murmured

Harry hand froze , mid sentence . That strange sense of unease was steadily becoming more prominent .

" Well , " he heard giggles nearby , " We do have someone who survived a Dark Lord right here . "

Harry continued writing , even faster . For some reason , this talk of Dark Lords was making him increasingly edgy. He then remembered the proclamation of that terrible prophecy made by that strange girl a mere fortnight ago . And immediately , it struck him with fear and dread . That faint sense of unease hanging over his head that he was never consciously aware of suddenly transformed into something far more intense. It was almost like a dam of fear bursting . No- it was like a dam simply disappearing . Why now though ? A small part of him reflected on this mystery , only for the tempest of tsunamis to wash it away .

. The room around him was beginning to attain an oppressive aura , almost like the memory of dementors without the coldness. Every word in the background was an even harsher and more intense reminder of the fate prophesied for him . The room suddenly felt Claustrophobic inducing. He had to get away . Get away before that sense of dread , like an oncoming tsunami swept him into an emotional abyss.

Emotion turned into action . With a sudden jolt , the chair he was sitting on fell backwards , the top of the backrest kissing the maple wood sheathed floors . As he stood up in panic , his hand accidentally toppled over a nearly empty ink bottle , leaving a circular imprint on the desk He whispered a quick apology to Ron , and backed away from the library , as fast as he could , leaving a thoroughly bewildered Ron , and a hastily abandoned essay , the quill trembling as if it shared its' master's panic.

Several floors up , in a matter of speaking , the near Raven haired girl held one hand up . The simulation paused for several seconds , on her unspoek command. She allowed herself a very slight smile , before allowing the "integration" recommence.

When both of his friends saw him for Dinner , he was oddly , melancholicaly silent . Something changed , something snapped , something had given . Even Ron , blind as he was emotionally noticed that . But , for one bushy headed friend , a dire conclusion was made , Someone had to answer for this .


End file.
